Entrepreneur takes over the Dolphin Inn pub in Hursley weeks after taking over Hunters Inn in Romsey and making it a success

Chris Schutrups recently took over the Hunters Inn pub in Romsey after contemplating buying it for his brother.

This week he announced that he has also taken over the Dolphin Inn, in Hursley.

Chris, 32, from Stoneham Lane, first started his career as a stockbroker in London, before going into mortgages and being offered a role in Dubai in 2019, where he became the CEO of the 'biggest mortgage business' in the middle east.

READ MORE: Popular Romsey pub The Hunters Inn reopens under new ownership

He said: "I came back from Dubai a year ago and thought 'I want to do something different. I want to do something that I enjoy', and I accidentally stumbled into hospitality because I was going to buy a pub for my brother and his wife who have been in the industry as managers for 15 years.

The Dolphin Inn

"That's when the Hunters Inn in Romsey came on my radar and ended up acquiring that.

"It's now fully booked a lot of the time and the community have really embraced it. It has gone from 30th out of 88 to 6th on Tripadvisor. We have spent about £100,000 renovating it and repositioned it from being a drinkers venue to a family and dog friendly venue."

Chris had the Dolphin Inn offered his way a couple of times before getting a 'good deal' and snapping it up, ready to start renovation work later this year.

The Hunters Inn

His plan is to spend around £150,000 in renovations while making sure the food is the heart and soul of the pub. The plan to renovate the pub consist of new carpets, chairs and new decorations throughout, while installing a brand new bar and renovations to the garden, which Chris says has a lot of potential for weddings, wakes and birthdays.

Chris said: "It has a lot of potential and I feel the local community will really enjoy.

"The renovation should start in around three months time. We have had eight months to plan for the Hunters Inn, but only two weeks to complete the transaction for the Dolphin. It has been different because we've had to move pretty quickly so we're sort of playing catch up, but as of May 12 we will relaunch the menu and that's going to be a big thing.

"We are also relaunching our Sunday roast, while creating a new seating area outside.

"The real big work will start in about three months time due to it being a listed building. But what we hope to create is a venue that the local community will love and embrace."

The pub owner is proud to announce everything on the menu is cooked fresh, while keeping the pub classics as well as a selection of daily specials, which consist of between four and five specials made to order.

Chris with Nicola and Rich at The Hunters Inn

He said: "The whole focus is using locally sourced produce where we can. Most of our meats come from Hursley butchers. We buy the meat from across the road from the butchers, where they source the meat locally. It's locally produced, home cooked, fresh food and that's the big change.

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"The secret to the success so far has been having the best people within the businesses and enabling them to do great things - whether it's saying to the chef's 'you pick what specials you want' or whether it be the general managers saying, 'you pick what beer we have'.

"It doesn't have to be my favourite beer but it has to be the customers' because they will drink the beer. Just having the right people in the right places enables us to do the best we can."

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Kimberley Barber