About us
Following a chance meeting at a barbeque in the mountains of Japan in 1998, Allison, from Texas, and Ben, from England, travelled the world working for, amongst others, The Embassy of Japan and the Press Association. After two years, they found they were spending more and more time in Shropshire, and so they decided to follow one of Ben's dreams and moved into the world of catering. Since buying Saracens at Hadnall in November 2003, they and their team have worked tirelessly to create one of Shropshire's finest dining establishments with a special interest in using local suppliers and producers.
With Saracens back on its feet, they set about looking for the next challenge and found it in the Bear at Hodnet. Having grown up in Cold Hatton Heath, Ben remembered how the Bear had been in its heyday and they saw this as a chance to do something different from Saracens, but with the same emphasis on local produce. You won't find any bags of frozen chips in our store rooms.
With the Bear, Allison and Ben wanted to recreate the perfect 'local' with excellent food, superb beers and a hearty welcome. At the same time, the structure of the Bear allows for so much more, with facilities perfect for small weddings, club activities and music events all of which can take place Upstairs@The Bear.