Town's trailblazing Wetherspoon gears up for 25th anniversary party
A town centre Wetherspoon pub is gearing up to celebrate its 25th anniversary at the weekend.
The Shrewsbury Hotel, in Bridge Street, opened in September 1998 as the first pub for J D Wetherspoon with a hotel attached.
It proved to be somewhat of a trailblazer for the company that now has 56 pubs with hotels across the country.
The pub's hotel manager Susan Richards and hotel manager Jane Clarey have both worked at the hotel for more than 24 years.
Jane said: "We are going to get our team together with customers on Sunday morning.
"We will be joined by the first customer to come into the pub all those years ago. He still comes in every morning."
The pub and hotel together employ more than 50 people, many of whom have worked there for years.
Jane said: "We are like a family and many of my staff have worked here for over 15 years. They are a really good company to work for."
On Sunday they will be celebrating the pub's quarter of a century with their teams and customers and sharing drinks and a slice of birthday cake. There will also be plenty of bunting.
There will also be a raffle with all proceeds going to the company's favoured charity CLIC Sargent.