An unlikely group has joined forces to buy a classic Clerkenwell pub, as reported in the Times. Actor Daniel Craig, Soho House founder Nick Jones, Flat Iron and The Devonshire co-founder Charlie Carroll and Justin O’Shea, who is the creative director of beer brand Bad Belze (which he launched in partnership with Craig), have come together to buy the Horseshoe, an 18th-century boozer tucked down the backstreets of Clerkenwell.
The Times reports that the pub – which closes in its current form today, October 9 – will undergo a refurbishment that will take around a year. It’s been run by couple Richard and Pauline Tucker since 1990. Though Craig is best known for his role as James Bond, he comes from a family of publicans: he spent his early years above his parents’ Cheshire pub, and regularly visited his grandparents’ Chester pub.
Carroll – who also comes from a lineage of pub landlords, and has plenty of experience in the pub game thanks to his smash-hit boozer The Devonshire in Soho – will run the food side of the equation. Downstairs will be a public bar, while upstairs (in a space currently known for its dartboards) will be a dining room.
Jones’s involvement comes at the tail-end of a big year for the Soho House founder. Alongside business partner Mark Wadhwa, he’s just officially opened St Clement, a landmark hotel at Temple that also incorporates a glitzy restaurant, buzzy bar, health club and Alex Eagle shop.
Broadsheet reached out for comment. A spokesperson for Nick Jones says no further information can be shared at this time.
