Wetherspoons to open huge new pub at London station next week after £2.8million investment
WETHERSPOONS is set to open a huge new train station pub within days following a £2.8million investment.
The Lion and The Unicorn will open at Waterloo station in London on Tuesday, September 3 in a move that’s set to delight commuters.
The boozer will launch in The Sidings, within the former Eurostar terminus and will create 70 jobs.
It is also set to become one of the biggest pubs Wetherspoons has opened at any train station in the UK.
The pub will be open from 6.30am until 12am Monday to Thursday, from 6.30am until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays, and from 7.30am until 12am on Sundays.
Wetherspoon founder and chairman Tim Martin said: “The Lion and Unicorn is a wonderful looking pub and I am confident it will appeal to travellers using Waterloo station, as well as visitors to the capital.
“The pub will offer excellent value for money food and drink.”
Wetherspoons also has branches at St Pancras and Victoria stations in London.
The new pub’s interior design was inspired by the historic architecture that made The Lion And Unicorn Pavilion a fan favourite at the Festival of Britain in 1951.
The opening comes after Brewdog launched its flagship site at the station in 2022, which was at the time the UK’s largest pub.
The opening of The Lion and The Unicorn forms part of Wetherspoons’ plan to open even bigger pubs, known as “Super Spoons”.
New boozers will also open in Fulham Broadway station and in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, in the coming months.
Wetherspoon opened its first pub at a holiday park at Haven’s Primrose Valley in Filey, North Yorkshire in March.
And work on its “Super Spoons” in Newcastle is now underway which will include a 26-bedroom hotel and 3,000 sq ft beer garden.
Elsewhere, chain has trimmed the size of its pub estate in recent years, selling or surrendering the lease on 26 of its outlets since November.
However, it stressed last month that it is still aiming to grow its portfolio of 801 venues to 1,000 sites in the longer term.
Sir Tim Martin said its total sales are at “record levels” despite having fewer venues than it did a year ago.
The chain has reported that like-for-like sales increased by 5.8% in the 10 weeks to July 7, despite unseasonably wet weather.
“The average Wetherspoon pub has generated taxes of one sort or another of £7 million in the last 10 years, as well as generating considerable employment and social benefits,” Sir Tim said.
“The last government failed to implement tax equality between pubs and supermarkets, leading to pub closures and underinvestment.
“Wetherspoon hopes that the current Chancellor, with a Bank of England pedigree, will understand how many beans make five, and rectify this inequality.”
The Sun recently visited the UK’s biggest Wetherspoons and we found pints for under £3 and it has a striking difference to other pubs.
How can I save money at Wetherspoons?
FREE refills - Buy a £1.50 tea, coffee or hot chocolate and you can get free refills. The deal is available all day, every day.
Check a map – Prices can vary from one location the next, even those close to each other.
So if you’re planning a pint at a Spoons, it’s worth popping in nearby pubs to see if you’re settling in at the cheapest.
Choose your day – Each night the pub chain runs certain food theme nights.
For instance, every Thursday night is curry club, where diners can get a main meal and a drink for a set price cheaper than usual.
Pick-up vouchers – Students can often pick up voucher books in their local near universities, which offer discounts on food and drink, so keep your eyes peeled.
Get appy – The Wetherspoons app allows you to order and pay for your drink and food from your table – but you don’t need to be in the pub to use it.
Taking full advantage of this, cheeky customers have used social media to ask their friends and family to order them drinks. The app is free to download on the App Store or Google Play.
Check the date – Every year, Spoons holds its Tax Equality Day to highlight the benefits of a permanently reduced tax bill for the pub industry.
It usually takes place in September, and last year it fell on Thursday, September 14.
As well as its 12-day Real Ale Festival every Autumn, Wetherspoons also holds a Spring Festival.