In London, the British do not want to see their pubs die – Liberation

It is not quite 4 p.m. on Friday evening, that all the tables of the Ivy House are already occupied. Parents with strollers who came to celebrate the arrival of the weekend before entering to prepare dinner. Regulars alone, who inveches themselves on both sides of the room by seashing their glasses of lukewarm beer. The technical team is in the process of making the last settings for the evening concert and slalom between the overexcited dogs and the scarves fallen from the chairs.

With its three pieces, its high scene and its garden, the Ivy House is not only in the ranking of the best pubs in London according to Time Out: it is also the very first community pub in the capital. After having passed from hand to hand, without much success, for years, he was about to be sold to a promoter when the residents of the surrounding streets decided to mobilize. « We had two days to have it registered on the list of classified buildings – it is normally a process that can take months », recalls Hugo Simms, who was of the battle and is still surprised to have succeeded. With a handful of others, they filed requests for scholarships and loans, to the point of lifting the 810,000 pounds (around 980,950 euros) claimed by the owner, and recovered the keys. It was in 2012.

Thirteen years later, Ivy House has become a destination in itself. « Our project was that this ad was as much used as possible, even during the day », insists Hugo Simms.