A COMMUNITY joined the new owners of a gastropub to celebrate the launch of their new venture.

Curtis Lewis and Dayne Watkins have opened the doors of the Lower New Inn, which is located on Newport Road in New Inn.

They also own the successful Butterflies Bar and Kitchen in Blaenavon.

On Thursday night they held a launch evening at the pub which featured live music, Prosecco and canapes, and more than 200 people came to support the new business.

Mr Watkins said: “We have had a really positive response.

“It’s a nice village and we put posts on a local Facebook group before we took over the place to see reaction to the idea, and the response was overwhelming.”

The gastropub’s chef, Jefferson Townsend, trained at the The Hardwick in Abergavenny and has worked in a number of gastro pubs before coming to the Lower New Inn.

Even before the gastropub was open they were already fully booked for their Christmas Day meals.

Mr Watkins added: “Nobody had tasted the food and we were fully booked for Christmas by the time we opened.

“All the staff we have here are local and are excellent at their work.”

“We have a good reputation in Blaenavon and that has led to bookings.

“The next few weeks we are busy with bookings, but we still have some space on a few dates.”

The venue has had a make-over on the inside and outside, but the owners have tried to keep the period features.

When asked about their plans for the building Mr Watkins said: “We have plans to carry on refurbishing different areas and we want to get the garden sorted and do alfresco dining in the summer.

“In Blaenavon we have won garden of the year for the last six years in a local competition, so we would like to repeat that success.”

For more visit the Lower New Inn on Facebook.