Vinnie Roarty and Sean Carinduff have taken over The Ship in Irvine which has been run by the Murray family for the past 30 years. They also run the Red Lion in Prestwick.
The decision by Chris Murray, pictured, who has been running the family business since the death of his father and brother, was a difficult one, but he told DRAM, “The time was right to hand over the pub to Vinnie and Sean. They are leasing the pub from me, and have an option to buy.”
The pub, which was renovated over lockdown is also award-winning – picking up the Dog Friendly Pub of the Year gong last year, and is a past winner of Sunday Mail Pub of the Year.
The new owners, on taking over, said, “We don’t want to ‘rock the boat’ too much as we very much admire the job Christopher and his family did in this historic venue over the past years but we have made a couple of immediate changes.”
These changes include taking cash payments and a new menu as well as a fixed menu. The pub is currently open Wednesday to Sunday with plans to open longer once they get their feet under the table.