THERE were some raised eyebrows in the town last week as the winner of the inaugural Tonbridge Pub Cup was revealed.
The Old Fire Station triumphed in the online poll, in which over 600 votes were cast, despite not strictly being a pub. In the day time, it runs as a café then during the evening it hosts a variety of guest chefs or breweries to serve their produce.
In the final they beat the slightly more traditional establishment in the Foresters Arms, garnering 61 per cent of the vote.
Sam Goode, who runs The Old Fire Station with business partner Richard Collins, said: “It is quite interesting, technically we are not a pub. But I mean it’s great, always good to win a popularity contest.
“We do host pop up breweries so we’re delighted that these are well received.”
The tournament was established in Tunbridge Wells last year by Kent Police Officer Martin Bryant, resulting in St.John’s Yard becoming reigning champions.
He said: “It’s a shame a lot of the venues aren’t on Twitter however it was good to see a lot of locals rally round for the other finalist, The Foresters Arms.
But it was surprising to see The Old Fire Station pop up style won a massive amount of votes from the first round.”
In total 16 establishments were entered into the world cup style tournament.
The fact that both finalists are two of the newest venues in the town may demonstrate an appetite for a fresh drinking experience in the town, or perhaps it is their clienteles’ superior social-media savvy.
