A VILLAGE pub is well on the road to recovery thanks to top chef Heston Blumenthal.
The Tyn y Capel in Minera closed two years ago, but villagers successfully campaigned to save it and now hope to lease the building as a pub once more.
More than 80 shareholders have injected funds into the project so far, and campaigners are making a plea for further investors to come forward and get it off the ground.
Graham ‘Jock’ Campbell, a member of the Tyn y Capel action committee group, said: “This is the final plea to the public to buy the remaining community shares needed to save the iconic pub.
“The fate of the pub is very much in the hands of the people of Wrexham.
“Everything is in place, we only need to raise the remainder of the capital needed to put our business plan onto a good footing.
“Our friends at the Saith Seren have established a great town centre example of a co-operatively-owned pub. If the Tyn y Capel is reopened, the county will be able to boast community owned pubs in both urban and rural settings.
“We’re yards away from the winning line.”
Michelin-starred Blumenthal visited Minera last year as part of his Channel 4 series, Heston’s Fantastical Food.
The resulting episode featured a fully-functioning pub inside a giant, edible pie, as well as a billiard table made from cod, and a super-sized pork scratching.
The chef, who runs the award-winning Berkshire restaurant The Fat Duck also built a customised fruit machine which paid out its jackpot in snacks, and a bar snack beer foam featuring the essence of honey-roast peanuts, frazzles, Scotch egg, and scampi fries.
Michael Fairclough, head of community and investment at the co-operative, said: “We are witnessing communities across the country, driven by needs other than to maximise profit, turning to co-operatively-owned solutions for the running of businesses and services.
“A well-run pub is an important part of the social fabric of a community. By working together, they can tackle some of the challenges currently facing our society, environment and economy.”
l To buy a share in the Tyn y Capel visit www.tynycapel. co. uk. Shares start from £100.