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| West End, 1992. Credit June & Ken Staice-Paine |
Licensees
Ronald Paton and Susan Paton 1991 1992 Renamed Happy Frenchman
Folkestone Herald
29-11-1991
Advertising Feature
The Happy Frenchman pub in Folkestone`s Christchurch Road
is being totally transformed. Regulars will not recognise their old haunt when
the extensive refurbishment of the building is completed next month.
The new pub will be renamed The West End and will feature
a stylish upstairs bar, a fabulous disco room, a dazzling array of new lights
and a top quality restaurant.
Licensee Ron Paton, who has been at the Happy Frenchman
for five years, said the exciting new place-to-be was due to open on November
4. He added “There will be about 150 lights and no windows downstairs. The
effect will be incredible”.
The new gallery bar has been created by raising the roof
and it should provide a wonderful extra dimension to The West End. The
downstairs bar will be decorated in a low-key way to make the most of the
fabulous new lights. The town`s fashionable young people are certain to make
the new pub a key part of their Friday and Saturday nights and it will
certainly bring a touch of glamour to Folkestone`s town centre.
The Happy Frenchman was always a lively place to go but
The West End is sure to be even more popular – two floors of fun. A large range
of delicious food will be available there in the evening for the first time so
pub-goers will not have to leave in search of a bite to eat. Previously the
restaurant had only served customers during the day.
Mr. Paton and his wife Janice want to make The West End
one of the liveliest pubs in Shepway, and they are making sure everything is
top quality before the grand opening next month. Builders are working flat-out
ready for the big day, which will be an occasion not to be missed. All the
discerning socialites of Shepway are sure to be there.
Folkestone Herald
12-8-1993
Local News
In a last-ditch attempt to keep a town centre pub open
the landlady is putting on live music. Lynne Weddell has run the West End pub –
once the Happy Frenchman – at Christchurch Road, Folkestone, since May this
year. But she thinks changes made before she came may still be keeping people
away. She said “The previous people turned it into a night club. They
breeze-blocked up and blacked all the windows and only opened in the evening. But
people said it was dark and dingy. Before that, when it was the Happy
Frenchman, it used to be an ordinary pub. We would like to get it back to what
it was”. Now bar snacks are on sale again and the windows let in light. First
band to perform, on August 14, will be Dover rock group Die Laughing. Mrs.
Weddell said “I`ve thought of putting a sign outside “Customers required. No
experience necessary.”, but I hope the music and making the place a proper pub
again will do the trick”.
Note: It reverted to being the
Happy Frenchman on 17th September.
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