Cheers! Harborough’s Wetherspoon pub celebrates 25 years in our town centre

Chef Matt Green Chef, manager Sam Judd and shift manager Julie Stors get in the spirit. PICTURE: ANDREW CARPENTER

A popular Wetherspoon’s pub has marked a quarter of a century in Market Harborough.

Staff from the Sugar Loaf raised a glass or two on its milestone anniversary on Sunday (August 6).

The branch has proved a popular high street staple since it opened its doors in 1998.

The opening of the Sugar Loaf on August 6 1998 with new landlord Grant.

The venue has seen high street trade flourish in its many guises across the centuries.

According to the Market Harborough History High Street Project, the venue started life as a drapery – selling cloth – before becoming a grocers in the 1800s.

In 1810, it became known as Gowards which sold essentials such as coffee, sugar, tea and herbs and spices.

In the store’s warehouse, staff blended tea, ground coffee, chopped sugar, ground spices and washed and polished dried fruit.

After shutting up shop in 1910, the site added watchmakers and supermarket to its repertoire before becoming the Sugar Loaf.