Southmead<\/a> for more than 16 years but says rising costs left her no other option but to step down and close.<\/p>\nLisa said: “I was there for what would have been 17 years in August. Closing it wasn’t something I wanted to do, but financially I had to because pubs just aren’t making any money – and the more you make, the more the brewery want.<\/p>\n
“So it was sad. I had to go. I didn’t realise just how appreciated I was and I’ve been blown away over the last weekend with messages and flowers and cards. I’ve never cried so much.”<\/p>\n
Lisa told BristolLive that Proper Pubs is refurbishing the pub, before it is taken over and run by a local couple.<\/p>\n
According to a document from Admiral Taverns online, the pub is having \u00a3416,000 invested into it and is set to undergo ‘a complete internal and external transformation, resulting in a warm, modern and welcoming space designed for everyone to enjoy’.<\/p>\n
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The Treble Chance pub in Southmead on April 23, with fencing and workers in hi-vis jackets undertaking the refurbishment(Image: Paul Gillis\/Reach Plc)<\/p>\n
The layout is described as being opened up to create a single bar operation, with a dedicated sports area that includes a pool table, darts boards, and large screens. There will be a new covered outdoor seating area with outdoor TVs.<\/p>\n
The pub’s name is changing to The Union Arms, but Lisa says her locals aren’t fans.<\/p>\n
“They’re doing the refurb to try and attract new customers to the area,” she says. “A lot of my locals that come in after work all say they were just happy with how it was.<\/p>\n
“That was their local, they lived on a council estate, and a lot of them have said they’ve seen the plans and everything else and it’s just not going to work. What they’re trying to implement, they’ve done to other pubs, but these pubs have been on the high street – and this pub is on a council estate.<\/p>\n
“There is nothing I haven’t already tried. In lockdown, during Covid, we completely redecorated the front bar, reupholstered the seats, we put it on YouTube. We’ve done a lot.”<\/p>\n
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Lisa Thorne’s customers at The Treble Chance pub in Southmead gave her a send-off on Saturday, April 18, marking the pub’s final day with fireworks(Image: Lisa Thorne\/Treble Chance pub)<\/p>\n
Lisa says that the decision to leave and close up her beloved boozer has hit her hard. “I thought it might have sunk in a bit,” she says, “but as the days go on I’m getting more and more upset. I think about the customers I’ve had and now lost, and the bonds I have with them.<\/p>\n
“Because I live on my own, I’ll cook a meal and then dish up extra for the customers who are on their own as well.<\/p>\n
“Even getting in the car and driving past right now is difficult – I just look and think ‘what have they done to my pub?’ It’s crazy how you can get attached to something. But I’ve been there so long, and I didn’t even get a card or anything from the brewery I’ve worked with all that time.<\/p>\n
“I feel like I’m just a number to them. But to my customers, I just couldn’t have done it without them.<\/p>\n
“We had fireworks on Saturday night – our last day open – and they were all chanting my name. They’ve all supported me in so many different ways over the years – I’ve had my ups and I’ve had my downs, but everybody’s been so wonderful and I’m really going to miss it all.”<\/p>\n
The Union Arms is set to open in around six weeks time.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for Admiral Taverns said: “The former licensee at the Treble Chance, Southmead, has decided to move on to new opportunities. We would like to extend our sincere gratitude for her hard work and unwavering commitment to both the pub and the local community.<\/p>\n
“We wish her all the best in future endeavours. We have now decided to move forward with a major \u00a3415,000 renovation, this will include a new name for the pub to reflect the fresh start and new look. We look forward to entering this new, exciting chapter, hoping to welcome customers in the early summer.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lisa Thorne was behind the bar at The Treble Chance for more than 16 years 15:50, 24 Apr…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":915653,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8818],"tags":[381,748,393,786,4884,9028,10963,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-915652","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bristol","8":"tag-bristol","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-food-and-drink","12":"tag-great-britain","13":"tag-pubs-and-bars-in-bristol","14":"tag-southmead","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116460447657706350","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/915652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=915652"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/915652\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/915653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=915652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=915652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=915652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Lisa](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1_WhatsApp-Image-2026-04-24-at-104603jpeg.jpg\")
<\/p>\n