SOUTH SHIELDS COMMUNITY PUB REOPENED FOLLOWING TRANSFORMATIONAL MAKEOVER

The Derby, located on Prince Edward Road in South Shields, officially reopened on Thursday 29th October following a transformational investment of £322,923. The pub is part of Proper Pubs, the award-winning community wet-led operator division of Admiral Taverns, which operates more than 200 pubs across England, Scotland and Wales.

Behind the bar is community operator Gary Thorius, who has extensive experience in the hospitality industry and has led the pub for 15 years already. He is also very involved in the pub's sports teams, as the Secretary for the darts league and a keen player in the pub's pool games. His expertise, combined with his energy and enthusiasm, will enable him to create a lively social hub for customers to enjoy, further cementing the pub at the heart of the local community.

Inside, the refurbishment included a full internal decoration, with new furniture and new dart board features to support league competitions. Outside, the pub has new outdoor seating, as well as new signage and decor. All of this will help to support the local community, as well as the 17 darts teams, 4 pool teams, and a football team.

The pub will offer a wide range of premium draught lager, stout and cider. In addition to this, there will also be a variety of soft drinks and spirits to ensure there is something for everyone.

Gary Thorius, Operator of the Derby, said: "It was fantastic to see people making the most of all the reopening events we had on last week, and seeing new and old faces coming into the pub. The refurbishment has given the Derby a fresh new look and the new viewing options for our sports lovers will really enhance their experience.

Admiral's expertise was very valuable throughout the process, and the team understood what the pub needed to offer the community. From the outset, the aim was to create a top-tier sports pub which gives customers a fantastic experience when watching sport."

On top of a fantastic drinks selection, the operator will host a busy schedule of entertainment for customers to enjoy including regular live music, sports coverage including racing, darts and pool teams, games club, and karaoke and quiz nights. The pub will also offer community bingo on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons at 1pm. Gary is also hoping to support all aspects of community life by collecting food to donate to the local foodbank. Going forward, he also hopes to support local causes close to the community's heart such as Paws for thoughts, Heal & Toe, and SURT children's charity. He will also be encouraging local fundraising initiatives to install a life-saving defibrillator outside the pub for the community.

Nikki Greenhalgh, Operations Director for Proper Pubs, said: "The refurbishment at the Derby looks fantastic and it has been a pleasure to work in partnership with Gary to bring this to life. The opening events were a great success and I have no doubt that will all his enthusiasm and expertise Gary will continue to make a success of the pub.

Bringing people together and creating vibrant community hubs is at the heart of what we do, and we are so glad to see another successful community pub opening."

Proper Pubs is always looking for ways to support its communities through an annual schedule of events and fundraising initiatives. This year over Easter it collected 21,619 easter eggs to donated to local charities and in 2025 operators collected 20,500 selection boxes to donate to local charities and communities in need for Christmas, as well as raising £80,255 for Admiral Taverns' charity partner, Claire House Hospice. 

Furthermore, last year, Proper Pubs also successfully donated enough food to local foodbanks across the UK to feed 1,300 people for a week and has also been recognised in the UK-wide defibrillator installation campaign which has already saved 11 lives.

In 2026, Proper Pubs was listed as a finalist in the Best Community Pub category at the Great British Publican Awards, and was previously crowned Community Pub Operator at the Publican Awards in 2024.

The Derby, Prince Edward Road, South Shields NE34 7LZ