All Business services in Duntocher, West Dunbartonshire Scotland United Kingdom

Latest reviews about business services in Duntocher, West Dunbartonshire Scotland

• Review of "The Village Tavern" at Duntocher
  ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
  Tom Cunningham wont forget the first bar he ever visited. The local businessman - who enjoyed global success as the drummer with pop band Wet Wet Wet - now owns the 113-year-old Village Tavern on Duntochers Main Street. Tom said: "On my first visit to The Village Tavern, I was a skinny youngster on a youth opportunities one-year apprenticeship. I had on my oversized overalls and was covered in the dirt of a hard days work. Even with my 17-year-old frame and my shiny wee face, I somehow managed to get away with my disguise as a grown-up working man. "I hid in the corner as my workmates ordered me a shandy. I had that, then a lemonade. I loved the atmosphere that day as I listened to the tall stories being told by everyone." "And I swear I didnt return to the Village Tavern until well past my 18th birthday!" The bar has been established at the heart of the community since 1898, and is shown on a map from that year. It was surrounded by huge cotton mills which employed thousands of locals, who would relax in the Village Tavern after a hard days graft. Duntocher was booming - the local chapel, church and village school were all within yards of the taverns front door, putting it at the very heart of village life, where it remains today. Even at the height of Wet Wet Wets success, home was never far from the hearts of Tom and his Clydebank bandmates. Tom said: "I was in Europe on some endless tour, when the call came through that my favourite bar was up for sale. I didnt know anything about running a bar, but I jumped at the chance to have some solid roots back home." He has now been at the helm of the Village Tavern for more than 15 years. The historic building sits in a perfect spot for a village pub - a place where locals can relax with friends and workmates in the heart of their community. He said: "The Village Tavern is not trying to reinvent the wheel. Its not trying to be a fancy wine bar for any new yuppie generation. It takes and holds on to what was great from the past and preserves that indefinable history and builds on that heritage. "As I see it, Coronation Street has the Rovers, EastEnders has the Vic and Duntocher has the Village Tavern at its centre. What we have in abundance is character. Add the fact that our customers are also great characters and I guess we do just what it says on the tin." Music continues to play a big part in Toms life and this is reflected in the quality of the entertainment put on every weekend. Over the years, additions such as the heated beer garden, 3D and big screen coverage of all the huge Sky TV sporting events, and a refurbished function room perfect for celebrations have made the Village Tavern experience even more attractive. Its now almost a quarter of a century since Wet Wet Wets first album, Popped In Souled Out, was released and plans are being made for the bands 25th anniversary. Tom said: "As a band we still get to walk onto some of the worlds biggest stages and play the music that we created here in Clydebank, and thats a special thing. But the bands history is so small when compared to that of his bar and Duntocher as a whole. "I feel a real sense of pride, and a real sense of being part of something way bigger than myself with the bar." And he credits his hard-working staff with making the Village Tavern such a success. "They are the ones who are serving the community on a day-to-day basis and they are the ones who make the biggest difference. "I just want to say cheers to all our loyal customers who choose to make the Village Tavern their local."
  By Admin, June 07, 2019