Mike Maclean at the pub

REGULARS fearing another of their favourite watering holes had been lost for good have been told not to worry after new publicans said they are moving in… alongside two dogs, three cats and two tortoises.

A sign on the door of the Junction Tavern in Fortess Road, Tufnell Park, announced that Sunday was the last day of trading and that the kitchen was closed.

But Mike and Shaunessey Maclean – who emigrated from Canada in January – told the New Journal this week that they have taken the pub on and pints will be pulled again as early as this weekend.

“It is a beautiful pub and a gorgeous site,” said Mr Maclean. “We were looking around and this really caught our eye. It is a lovely neighbourhood and the pub is flexible inside for us to do lots with it.”

The outgoing management had only been behind the bar for about six months but the overall owners, the Stonegate group, confirmed new tenants had been found.

The tavern became known as a trailblazer in the gastropub world, being one of the first in the area to start focusing as much on dining as beers.

Its open-plan kitchen set a tone often mimicked by many others in Camden.

Mr Maclean said he was fulfilling a long-held ambition to work in the UK, and was drawn here by a lifelong friend, Mark Allen, who manages The Black Prince in Kennington.

The Junction Tavern

Mr Allen was looking for some help with his business and called on Mike’s expertise. In his native Canada, Mr Maclean ran pubs, nightclubs, sports stadiums and music festivals and has wide experience in hospitality and food and drink.

And fans of the Junction’s renowned menus can rest easy – the pub’s kitchen will also re-open.

Mr Maclean added: “We are putting together a great food menu of modern English pub fare. We are aiming to create a real, community pub – and it will be a pub looked over by its dogs.”

Dogs Teddy and Bella – joined by Black Prince resident canine Peanut for a few days while the pub is being given the once over – have already made themselves at home and Mr Maclean said they are looking forward to exploring Hampstead Heath together.

In the home above the pub, where the family are living, cats Lucy, Hodgie and Odie are settling in, while Frank and Remy, the tortoises, are waiting for special export licences before they can cross the Atlantic and take up residence in the Junction’s sun-kissed back garden.

Mr Maclean added: “We are looking forward to opening and welcoming back regulars and showing the Junction off to new friends too.”

A spokesman for Stonegate said: “The Junction Tavern was closed on Sunday, April 14 for a short period following a change of tenancy. The much-loved local pub will be reopening this Friday, April 19 and looks forward to welcoming the community back.”

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