Wetherspoon to open 15 new pubs with popular fish and chip chain
The first new Wetherspoon boozer will open in October, with more planned for later this year - here is everything you need to know
Wetherspoon is set to open 15 pubs through a new partnership with fish and chips chain Papas.
The first boozer will open in Gateway Park, Lincoln, on October 1 and will be called The Hykeham Manor. A further three will open in October and November in Annitsford, Northumberland, Stockton-on-Tees, Co Durham, and Emersons Green in Bristol.
Wetherspoon will operate the pubs under franchise with The Papas Group, which runs Papa's Fish and Chips and also operates Wendy's restaurants under franchise.
Wetherspoon commercial director Michael Barron, said: “We are delighted to have signed agreements with The Papas Group. We are looking at further opportunities and are confident that more franchise agreements will be signed.”
Papas Group director Andrew Papas added: “We are absolutely thrilled to be partnering with Wetherspoon to bring 15 new pubs to life across the UK.
“These aren’t just any pubs — they’re beloved community spaces, thoughtfully located outside the traditional high street, yet right at the heart of where people live, work and gather.
“This partnership is about more than just expansion; it’s about restoration, revitalisation and reinvestment in our local communities. We’re proud to be breathing new life into some fantastic venues, creating hundreds of jobs, and offering unbeatable value, welcoming surroundings and the exceptional service that people expect from Wetherspoon.
“At Papas Group, we believe in building places that bring people together — and we can’t wait to open our doors.”
It comes after Wetherspoon announced a partnership with Haven last year. The pub chain now has five sites under franchise with the holiday park firm, including its first on-site Wetherspoon pub at Primrose Valley.
Haven has invested £6.7 million into the expansion of the new pubs. Wetherspoon also has franchise agreements with Newcastle and Hull Universities, along with Thompson Holdings, which operates a pub in the Isle of Man.
In more Wetherspoon news, Tim Martin, boss of the pub chain, reinstated a menu item after a customer complained about its disappearance. Wetherspoon fan Adam Gale was gutted when he discovered his local pub had axed tuna jacket potato from the menu.
Other toppings, including beans and cheese, were still available, he noted in a letter sent directly to Tim Martin. Mr Gale, of Cranleigh, said: “I love visiting Wetherspoons pubs across the country.
“Yet I am disappointed to see, at my local Wetherspoon in Guildford - The Rodboro Buildings - that the tuna filling is no longer available for the wonderful jacket potato menu option.”
In response to the letter, Mr Martin said: “For several decades, I was a tuna-and-jacket-potato guy. But I switched to a chicken wrap and salad for lunch a few years back. So, I hadn't noticed that the tuna had vamoosed.
“No sooner is my back turned. Seriously, though, as we speak, tuna has been reinstated. Your wish is my command, as they say.”
