THE owners of a micro-brewery have come to the rescue of their village pub by re-opening it over a year after it called last orders.

Richard and Sue Green of Dovecote Brewery in Denbigh have lived in Tremeirchion for over 25 years.

They were disappointed when the Salusbury Arms shut 18 months ago but they joined a campaign to save the historic inn and now the running of the pub is a family concern for the Green family.

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Their son Dominic and his partner, Rhiannon Catania, run front of house. Mrs Green is in the kitchen and Mr Green brews their beer.

Chris Ruane, Vale of Clwyd MP, was a guest when locals celebrated the relaunch.

Mr Ruane, who helped get Dovecote Brewery’s Dove From Above beer into the Strangers Bar at the Houses of Parliament last year, said: “It’s a lovely pint and it went down very well in the House and it’s absolutely fantastic that the Salusbury Arms has been re-opened as a community pub.

“When it closed it ripped the heart out of the village and to have that heart put back means so much to the community and they have rallied round to help fit the pub out and donate items to it.

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“One of my interests in Parliament is mindfulness and well-being because people are increasingly isolated in their own homes and we need places like the Salusbury Arms where we can meet each other face to face rather than Facebook to Facebook.”

Dovecote Brewery currently produces 12 beers at their traditional and authentic micro-brewery on Denbigh’s Colomendy Industrial Estate where they also have the Dove at Denbigh Taproom for special events. They are also involved in running an expanding network of micro-pubs across North East Wales.

They have opened Dove micropubs in Rhyl and Prestatyn and they also, in partnership with another micro-brewery, Cwrw Ial, in Eryrys, near Ruthin, have launched The Hoptimist brand in Abergele, Rhuddlan and recently Llangollen.

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Mrs Green said: “The effort to re-open the Salusbury Arms was led by Tremeirchion 2000 community organisation and when the opportunity came to take over the licence we were more than happy to step in. We had to have the backing of and full help from the community and they have been brilliant.

“We had a weekend here when 60 or 70 people came in and helped with everything, painting, decorating, cleaning and even donating pictures and paintings for the walls, it was a real team effort."

“We’re already seeing local organisations using it as a meeting place – we’ve got a knit and natter group of local ladies - as well as a vibrant and expanding event and activities programme and the Salusbury is also open for food again and that’s proving very popular.”