The pub, to be called Castell de Santa Bàrbera, will open in January next year and trade seven days a week, from 6am to 9pm
Wetherspoon is set to quench the thirst of Brits abroad with its first pub in mainland Europe.
The renowned pub chain has unveiled plans for a new establishment at Alicante Airport, catering to holidaymakers heading home from the Spanish hotspot and the wider Costa Blanca region.
The boozer, named Castell de Santa Bàrbera, is due to open its doors in January next year, operating seven days a week from 6am to 9pm. The venue will boast nearly 1,000 square feet of customer space on one level, complemented by an outdoor terrace with seating.
Wetherspoon founder and chairman Tim Martin expressed his excitement about the venture, saying: “We are very much looking forward to opening our first overseas pub. We believe it will be popular with people travelling home from Alicante Airport. We aim to open a number of pubs overseas in the coming months and years, including those at airports.”
The menu at the new location will mirror that of other Wetherspoon pubs, with around 90% of the offerings being the same, including British favourites like fish and chips and an English fry-up. However, there will also be a nod to local cuisine with dishes such as garlic prawn and Spanish omelette, reports the Mirror.
In terms of beverages, patrons can expect Guinness, Stella Artois, and local Spanish brews. One notable difference will be the absence of a specially designed carpet, with the pub instead opting for a tiled floor.
This could mark the beginning of a series of international Wetherspoon establishments, following previous comments from Mr Martin suggesting the potential for branches in popular destinations like Benidorm and Majorca.
The pub is set to be bustling, with more than 2.6 million Brits having visited the Costa Blanca last year. Major airlines such as EasyJet, Ryanair, Jet2, and British Airways all provide direct flights to Alicante.
Amongst the competition at Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernandez Airport will be the Enrique Tomás Experience, a tasting bar offering 100% acorn-fed ham and other traditional Iberian pork products like chorizo and salchichón sausage. The airport also boasts a Budweiser bar complete with an outdoor terrace, open from 6am to 9pm.
Similar to the Alicante location, and an increasing number of UK openings, any overseas expansion is likely to take the form of partnerships with franchise operators.
Wetherspoon was established in 1984 with a single pub in Muswell Hill, north London. It peaked at 955 outlets in 2015 but, after a decade of closing more sites than it opened due to cost pressures and evolving customer habits, the chain now operates just under 800 pubs across the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
It has previously resisted opening branches elsewhere in Europe – until now.
The Alicante airport pub forms part of plans to launch around 30 pubs over the next year – marking its largest expansion in a decade. Approximately half of these will be operated by JD Wetherspoon itself, with the remainder run by franchisees, creating 1,800 jobs.
One of Wetherspoon’s largest pubs ever opened at a Haven holiday park in Devon in May this year. The pub, known as the Red Rocks, can accommodate nearly 700 patrons and has the capacity to serve up to 2,000 pints a day.
Despite other sectors of the pub industry facing difficulties, Spoons has experienced robust trading. Results released earlier this month revealed a 3.7% increase in sales during the first 14 weeks of its financial year, up until 2 November.
Bar sales saw a rise of 5.7%, and food by 0.9%. Profits for the year ending in late July surged by over 10% to £81.4 million.