The George in Cullingworth has been given £1.25m makeover

The George at Cullingworth was recently acquired by Tiffin Venue Management Ltd, and is due to reopen on Monday.

“We have had people coming in and literally the first thing they says is ‘wow’.

"It’s completely different from the pub that it used to be,” said director Richard Cullen. 

“We have modernised it completely. We have spent £15,000 on lighting, and £30,000 on new furniture.

"The sound system alone was £13,000. We have put a lot of money into how it looks. When you come in you can see images from all over Bradford on the walls and you hit a very blue pub! 

The George's new look (Image: Newsquest)

“It’s completely different to how it was before. It’s gone from a simple local boozer to a really good food pub.

“It’s been completely renovated. We knocked down all the internal walls downstairs and have moved the bar from the centre to the edge of the pub.

"Everything is brand new, to make it into a state-of-the-art pub. There is a brand-new sound system, TVs, and even an illuminated bar. The lighting is really subtle but quite cool.”

The kitchen has been made larger, and the pub’s covers have more than doubled, from 70 to 142. 

The bathrooms have been given a makeover (Image: Newsquest)

“By taking all these walls down, we have really made it into a lovely venue,” said Richard. “

"The village was crying out for somewhere good to eat. We really wanted to give Cullingworth a good local eaterie and a good community pub."

Richard says the food will be “good local hearty pub food” such as lasagne, chilli con carne, chicken tikka masala, fish and chips, steak and ale pie, burgers, and there will be light bites such as sandwiches, paninis, and breakfasts, as well as small dishes such as halloumi fries and jalapeno poppers.

“We have some good chefs, and a really good team of bar staff. One of the managers has come from one of our other pubs,” said Richard.

The pub includes nice spaces for customers to relax (Image: Newsquest)

“Paula Walton is our pub manager and she is a brilliant publican. She has been in the trade for many years and has worked with us for a long time. She is really bubbly and really fun.”

The annual Christmas carol service will take place in the pub, and there will be a regular bingo night, a quiz, food theme nights, and karaoke.

“We will work with as many local breweries as we can to provide hand pull and craft ales," said Richard.

The team at the pub are looking forward to people seeing its new look (Image: Newsquest)

“The first one we have is Saltaire Blonde, and we will be working with local companies to try and bring a bit more of the local Bradford beer in, but also, because we are an independent, we have also got Heineken and Carlsberg as our main brewers.

“We are thrilled to open – it has been a long time coming and everyone in the village is saying the same thing. We’re really excited to invite everyone from the village to come in and experience the food.

“The menu will change over the next six months, depending on what people like. We might test a few new things.

“In the next couple of months, we will introduce Sunday carveries, because there is a call for that, an Indian night, Mexican night, steak night, plus all the activities throughout the week as well, and we are hoping to be a really good live music pub.

"Saturday night will be live music night.”