This edition's Pub of the Month is in the centre of Stoke - Gray's Corner, at the bottom of Hartshill Road. Mike and Sue Cunningham have owned Gray's Corner for seven years, having previously run the King's Arms in Stoke for six years, and then managed the Smithfield in Hanley for a year, while they were looking for a pub of their own.
Gray's Corner is a busy city centre pub, with a good local trade. Originally the Sea Lion, it was then successively the Olde Bull and Bush, the New Bull and Bush and the Henry Maxwell, before standing empty for three years.
Mike and Sue knew that their new pub would have "Corner" in its name, because of its location, but which Corner? Then one day a local shopkeeper said to Mike, "Look, they're still addressing letters to Gray's Corner". It turned out that at the junction of Hartshill Road, Liverpool Road and Church Street there used to be a chemist's run by a Mr. Gray, so it is appropriate that the nearest pub should become "Gray's Corner".
The beers served are Banks's Original Mild, Marston's Bitter and Pedigree, and Taylor's Landlord. After the takeover of Marston's by Banks's, Mike thought that Marston's Bitter would be axed, and tried Cameron's Bitter instead for a while. It wasn't as popular, and now he has heard that Banks's have changed their corporate mind (because they received so many complaints about Marston's Bitter being replaced by Banks's Bitter), so Marston's Bitter is back on his bar It just shows the power of protest.
He is open 11-11 Mon-Fri; 11-4,7-11 Sat and 12-4, 7-10.30 Sun. Good value lunches are available every day from 12-2(12-3 Sun). Mike runs his own Music Quiz on Tuesdays at 9.15pm, and a General Knowledge quiz on Sundays As proof that you can't keep a good landlord down, since Wetherspoon's opened just down the road twelve months ago, Mike has seen his turnover go up. Why not call in and see what Mike is doing right?