NEW OWNERS are set to throw open the doors at a Southampton watering hole which closed its doors earlier this year.

The Junction Inn will be open for business again from midday on Monday having shut in July.

With a new lease of life, it is now owned and run by Matthew Southwell, 28, and Chloe Paxton, 20.

The couple has recently moved to Southampton from Banbury in Oxfordshire.

Matthew says he has run pubs and clubs for the last ten years.

Ultimately, he says he wants to get the pub in Priory Road well-known and busy.

He said: “I fell in love with the outside of the building.

“The back bar is listed.

“It looked like it had really nice potential.”

He has big plans on the horizon and is optimistic for the future saying that pubs are slowing getting back to where they used to be before the covid crisis struck.

Matthew and Chloe have been blitzing the inside of the building in preparation for a grand reopening next week.

They plan to eventually host live music, DJs, karaoke and quiz nights.

Matthew, who also has experience as a chef, says he is working on a menu and hopes to introduce ‘super stacker’ burgers and eating challenges.

Under the new management, the Junction Inn is both dog and child-friendly.

There is a large beer garden as well as seating out front.

On offer, there will be four ales on tap and a selection of lagers, ciders and spirits.

The building itself is believed to have been built in the 1860s and was originally called the Wareham Inn.

It had reportedly become the Junction Inn by 1878.

It won an award from the Campaign for Real Ale for a renovation project in the 1990s.

Despite a fire at the pub in February 2012, many of the internal Victorian features have survived.

For more information about upcoming events, search for the Junction Inn on Facebook.