ONE city pub has been shaped by its 'loyal and fantastic' customers who kept the pub going after the toughest of times - the Covid lockdown.

The Alma Tavern in Droitwich Road, Worcester is one of 10 pubs chosen as finalists in the Worcester News Best Pub 2022 award.

READ MORE: Top 10 pubs in the running announced

Jon Dean, front-of-house manager, said from the very start he and licensee Will Bradley had set a course to put the Alma at the heart of the community and bring people the sort of pub they wanted.

Run by Star Pubs and Bars (Heineken UK), the pub was refurbished before it re-opened under the new team and has attracted a devoted following. 

The pub is popular with locals but also attracts a loyal following - one couple comes all the way from Abergavenny to go to the bingo night. 

Mr Bradley and Mr Dean took over the management of the pub in September 2019.

Mr Dean said: "One of the things we set out to ensure was that the Alma was the heart of the local community."

He said they wanted somewhere that had reasonably priced high-quality food with a relaxed atmosphere. 

The Alma has something going on every day - 25 per cent off food on Mondays, quiz and chips on Tuesdays, bingo on Wednesdays, a general knowledge pub quiz on Thursdays, karaoke on Fridays and live entertainment, often promoting local bands, on Saturdays.

On Sunday the pub offers traditional, hand-carved roasts.

"We also have a function room which is really utilised," he said.

Only recently the pub ran a Neon Pulse 80s night. The pub was forced to close during the first lockdown in March 2020. 

"Without the fantastic support of the local community, we would not have survived," said Mr Dean.

Although the managers intend to move on to pastures new that is not happening soon.

Mr Dean said: "We hope the customers who have supported us for three and a half years will continue to be looked after."

He said being picked as one of the top 10 pubs was a 'wonderful endorsement' of the pub. If the Alma won, he said it would be the customers who had created an award-winning pub and they had only helped to facilitate it. 

"It would be a victory for the whole community," he said.

The next step in the competition is to vote for your favourite.

To do this, you will need to collect the tokens that will be printed in the Worcester News every day until Saturday, August 13.

You can either post the tokens to the addresses below or drop them in at your chosen pub.

We’ll tot them all up at the end of the promotion and will announce the winning pub on Thursday, August 25.

The ten pubs in the running to be named Worcester News Best Pub of 2022 are:

Alma Tavern, Droitwich Road

The Arch Rivals Brewing Company, Infirmary Walk

The Bell Inn, St John’s

The Berkeley Arms, School Road, St John’s

The Chequers at Crowle, Crowle Green

The Crown, Bransford Road

The Dragon, The Tything

The Maple Leaf, Canada Way

Lower Wick The New Chequers, Astwood Road

Craft Inn, Foregate Street