New owner of the beer lovers’ pub of pubs says ‘if it ain’t broke, why fix it?’
Bar which became known as 'Sir Keir Starmer's favourite' has changed hands
Monday, 2nd November — By Geoffrey Sawyer
The Pineapple pub
IT featured regularly in the news as Sir Keir Starmer’s favourite pub – the place where the former prime minister could switch off with a cold one.
But regulars know The Pineapple in Leverton Street simply as their favourite backstreet pub in Kentish Town – and will be relieved to hear its new owner pledging this week that he intends to keep things more or less just the way they are.
Speculation around the future of the bar has been bubbling around NW5 for several weeks and now the Remarkable Pub Company has confirmed it has acquired the keys. It will be the 18th in the firm’s portfolio, which already includes the Lord Palmerston in Dartmouth Park and the Rosemary Branch and The Reliance in Islington. Each bar is a traditional pub operation.
A clipping from the CNJ in 2002 as famous faces join the campaign to save the pub from developers
Alex Summers, its commercial director, said The Pineapple was a “rare gem” which had been named ‘pub of pubs’ by beer enthusiasts CAMRA.
“We are delighted to have retained their famous Thai kitchen and the services of their long serving pub manager,” he added. “We intend to do minimal things to this site, slowly over time we will change the keg line up but if it ain’t broke, why fix it? Cask to still be the star of the show.”
Sir Keir Starmer
The link with Mr Starmer became a clichéd feature for political journalists looking for copy during the pressure moments. In fact reporters were apparently being asked not to vox-pop customers during the recent Holborn and St Pancras by-election.
But the pub already had a rich history before this publicity – it dates back to 1868 – and actors Ken Stott and Roger Lloyd-Pack were among the famous faces who helped save The Pineapple from being turned into luxury flats back in 2002.
Gill Scott, one of the key campaigners, documented its history and the campaign to save it from developers in her book Pineapple Rescued: By The Community. Her research revealed archive photos and the original lease. Those who helped protect the pub sometimes refer to themselves as the ‘Old Pineapplers’.
