Stroud News & Journal, 16th February 2005 – New bar opening: Mark Winchcombe chose Stroud for his new bar-restaurant because he fell in love with the building. He was so taken back with the dramatic lines and glass ceiling of 9 St John Street, he not only decided to open his business there, he’s even named in NINE in its honour.
But there’s another reason too. when NINE opens at the end of this month, it will be a late-night venue with a touch of sophistication – somewhere you can enjoy a good quality meal as well as a drink; where art from a local gallery hangs on the wall, and the music is quietly entertaining.
Stroud Life, February 2005 – Food for thought at new night venue: Stroud is set for a fourth late night venue as the town’s evening economy continues to surge forward. The John Street bar restaurant will be called NINE and will sit on the corner of the street, opposite the Cornhill Market. During the week it will serve food and drink from 11am to 11pm and on Friday and Saturday nights there will be a late licence.
The emphasis will be on art and music and will be run by Mike Corr, renowned party host and sax player for popular Chalford band Ska Daddy. He said he wanted to create a venue with a degree of urban sophistication.
“There’s a growing social trend for venues which offer a mix of bar and restaurant, places which have a more up-market elegance than the traditional pub,” he said.
All the paperwork and licence applications are now out of the way and NINE is expected to open by the end of March.
The Citizen, Friday 24th June 2005 – ‘Eating Out’: The latest addition to the culinary scene in Stroud, the numerically named Nine, seeks to fill a niche in the town previously not catered for. It combines an upmarket, chic bar with a light and airy restaurant offering high quality food.
Previously the boardroom of Stroud Rural District Council, Nine has been sympathetically and stylishly converted. The bar area is light and spacious, complete with leather sofas, low tables made of oak slabs, finished off with the eye-catching centrepiece of a potted palm tree.
The Citizen, Friday 14th December 2012 – Raise a glass to 12-pump bar: Beer fans – get your thinking caps on as the landlord of Stroud’s newest pub wants suggestions from drinkers of what they would like to see served up. Nigel Crofts has now officially opened The Ale House in the Cornhill and he has had a positive response to his 12-pump bar serving real ales.
“Inevitably we have had requests and I will do my best to meet them,” said Nigel, who took over the former Bar Nine building. “It’s a work in progress here and we have a suggestion box for anyone to drop their ideas in to.”
Beers on pump include Stroud Brewery’s Budding, Dark Star’s Hophead, Cotswold Lion’s Golden Fleece, Gloucester Brewery’s Mariner, Butcombe’s Adam Henson’ Rare Breed and Bradford Brewery’s Salamander. Nigel is keen to keep prices realistic. “We’re about offering good beer, good company and good food at good prices,” he said.
The Citizen, Wednesday 13th April 2016 – Ale House is best pub in the town: Beer experts are celebrating a triple crown for their favourite pub The Ale House. The Stroud hostelry has been named the town branch of the Campaign for Real Ale’s Pub of the Year for a third time. CAMRA members, regulars and locals converged on the John Street pub to toast its success. Landlord Nigel Crofts was presented with a framed certificate to join the two previous years’ on the wall.
“The Ale House triple success will come as no surprise to anyone who’s been there,” said Tim Mars from Stroud CAMRA. “It is an ale drinker’s Mecca, an all-round beer festival, the best pub in Stroud and one of the finest in the county.”
