Mike Mercer From The Albion

Hot on the trail of talking about our good, local boozers, some sad news relating to one of the most popular local pubs in Chester. Landlord, Mike Mercer from The Albion, has sadly passed away. Mike was the landlord of The Albion for very near 50 years. Isn’t that incredible. Fifty years in any job is incredible, but in the volatile world of running a pub, that is an amazing achievement.

Anyone living in Chester will probably know of The Albion. And anyone who socialises in Chester city centre will know of The Albion pub. The pub and Mike have legendary status in Chester. And rightly so. In this day and age, The Albion was a bit different to most, if not all, Chester pubs. How so you may ask?

Mike Mercer From The Albion

The Albion was a pub I popped into now and then. I wouldn’t say it was a regular haunt of mine, but it was one I did go into and a pub I liked. As I have touched in recent posts, I feel we should be doing whatever we can to support our local pubs. As this post mentions HERE in more detail. And The Albion was right up there with the best local pubs in Chester. Being a fan of real ale myself, a pub with a great tradition of some real great beer.

The pub itself is what I would call a proper pub. A real traditional boozer. It’s character, popularity and atmosphere very much lending itself to the man at the helm. Not only great beer and a great atmosphere. Great food as well. Your very typical, traditional pub grub if you like. And an open fire with the pub moggy in attendance stretched out in front of it, keeping warm. Yes, as I say, a proper, local boozer.

The Albion Opening Hours

I mentioned above that The Albion was a bit different to most, if not all, Chester pubs. In these days of some pubs virtually being open around the clock, The Albion was a throwback to days gone by when it came to opening hours. For those of us that can remember, back in the day, pubs closed at 3pm in the afternoon, Monday’s to Saturday’s and 2pm on a Sunday. Mike kept to those opening hours for years. Well, as near as those hours as possible. I think, for instance it may close at 2:30pm on a Sunday now.

But, I think it’s fair to say, Mike was well known for running the pub in a certain way and in a way that reflected his character to a large extent. As well as the ‘back to the old days’ opening hours, Mike was very conventional in quite a few other respects. No chips, no juke box, no music, no gaming machines, no, what some would call, ‘designer’ drinks.

The ‘no music’ bit was relaxed though for the Christmas Eve singalong. Again though, very traditional.

In a nutshell, when it came to how Mike ran his pub, all the punters knew what to expect. The Albion did exactly what it said on the tin. Or, to be more precise, what it said on the blackboards outside.

Mike was the city’s longest serving landlord and it goes without saying, he will be sorely missed. Chester has lost one very charismatic, much loved, popular publican. Our thoughts and condolences go out to Mike’s wife Christina and daughters, Clare, Lorna and the whole family. RIP Mike Mercer, a true Chester legend.

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