The owner of a new tap room in Hitchin, which is set to open soon, is hoping to make the town a "destination for craft beer".
Teller Bar has taken over at 8 Bucklersbury, a unit which has stood empty 2018 when long-standing residents Hawkins of Hitchin closed.
An extensive refit is almost complete, and owner Owain Rhys is hoping to open fully soon after a taster weekend proved successful.
"I’d love to be fully open in three weeks, but I can’t promise anything. You just don’t know with these things and they often take longer than you expect, but we’re getting there," he told Comet reporter Dan Mountney.
There will be plenty for beer lovers to enjoy, and drinks for those who don't enjoy a pint too, with Owain continuing: "We have quite a lot of lines here, so the plan is to have 15 for beers.
"We’ll always have a German beer which will be appropriate for the season. We’ll always have a couple of Belgian beers that will again rotate. We’ll have a cider, gluten free and alcohol free too.
"We’re also going to do tap takeovers, so working with a new brewery every month or so, and we’ll get their latest stuff.
"And for those who don’t like beer, we’ll have five draught cocktails that we are going to prepare here. Every weekend we’ll be preparing a new batch, working with local distilleries to create them."
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Having previously just had one craft beer spot, the scene is quickly expanding in Hitchin, with Teller joining Beer Shop and Hammered, which will be opening soon in The Arcade.
Owain believes that alongside these businesses, Teller can help turn the town into a "destination for craft beer".
"Hitchin is definitely becoming a destination for evenings out. It’s a bustling High Street, so I think a bar like this will lend well to the popular demand places to eat and drink," he said.
"Beer Shop have been going for quite a while now, and they are amazing at what they do. If there is anything you want, they have it, and they will be able to tell you about it.
"We’re offering something a bit different where it’s more of a sit in environment, with limited but quality beer on tap.
"I think it’s the more the merrier in terms of businesses, because Hitchin will become a destination for craft beer."
Owain will also have the backing of Six Hills Brewing in Stevenage, where he has worked for the past two years.
He revealed they have been "really supportive" of his new venture, and Teller will even be supplying three of their tasty beers.
"I worked at Six Hills Brewing for two years, but this is my own venture," he said.
"I’ve always wanted to run my own place, and the brewery have been really supportive in letting me do that. I hadn’t done anything like this until I started at Six Hills, but it’s the path that I knew I wanted to take.
"Before that I worked in finance for seven years, so doing something like this was a nice transition."
As for the name, Owain admitted Teller was inspired by the history of the unit, adding: "A lot of these buildings are listed and the landlord had to do a heritage survey as part of the redevelopment.
"As I understand it, when the Hawkins family opened their first place in Hitchin it was a pawn broker, and it was in this unit. I wanted to give the name something that reflected that history, so Teller, like a pawn broker teller, seemed like a good name."
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