Squires Four Pub (photo by Kevin Rothwell / Vernon Matters)

By Liam Verster

Reopening in June

Vernon pub plans to reopen following extended closure

Mar 29, 2023 | 12:00 PM

One of Vernon’s best-known pubs is preparing to reopen after being shuttered for over a year and a half

The Squires Four Pub, which first opened north of Vernon in 1986, faced some troubles after closing its doors in October of 2021 due to complications from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“[We closed] because of the pandemic and everything that was going on around at that time, and after that it was getting difficult for us to find the right sort of people and to have a good team so we can run the operations. We were facing all sorts of challenges back then,” Tanvi Thakore, the manager of Squires, told Vernon Matters.

“But then now, realizing everything is stabilizing and people are getting back to the normal life, we thought that now would be a really good time before the summer kicks in that we should reopen the pub.”

Squires plans to do a soft opening in May with limited invite-only or reservations to test out their renewed operations and ensure things are functioning properly.

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The pub will be reopening to the general public with a grand opening planned for June 1, 2023.

The reopening comes nearly a year after other bars and restaurants reopened their doors and welcomed back customers. However, Thakore doesn’t believe they will have any trouble competing with other establishments.

“We’re definitely looking forward for our customers, who were already there at Squires, to come back and revisit the place and make it the place that it was before. And with that, we also want to target the newer audience that has come to Vernon now, and also the tourist customer that would be coming to Vernon,” Thakore told Vernon Matters.

“We still have so many people coming in [to the liquor store] and asking about the pub, and now, since we started with some renovations over here, people are already talking about it and asking about it and are excited that the pub is going to reopen.”

The renovations Thakore mentioned are fairly minor, and mostly involve refurbishing and upgrading furniture that she called “outdated,” adding the layout will remain the same inside.

Squires Four plans to continue serving classic pub-style food, though the manager did note the prices will be higher than before they closed.

“With inflation and the cost of everything going up so high, there will be a little bit of change in the pricing,” Thakore said.

“The prices that were there two years ago, it’s very difficult to maintain the same prices, everything has gone up since then, but it wouldn’t be too expensive. It would still be very much reasonable and affordable to the customer.”

To help draw in more people, the pub plans to move towards a more “sports bar” feel by showing more games and events like UFC fights, football games and soccer matches, as well as offer activities like karaoke nights and game nights.

Squires Four still needs some more staff, including kitchen and front-of-house, and asks anyone interested to contact the pub and arrange for an interview.