The Boys Are Back in Town at Tubbs Restaurant and Bar
by Karen Shaw
Ollie Spark and Adam Barron are the new owners
Ollie Spark welcomes me with his signature effervescent charm and energy. He’s a happy man, and rightly so. After 10 years of managing Tubbs of Colne, he’s now the new owner alongside business partner and head chef of seven years, Adam Barron.
“It’s just brilliant,” he grins. “It’s way up from what we thought it would be. Everyone’s just buzzing, everyone’s happy, everyone’s got behind us. I’ve felt a new energy in this building since we’ve taken it over.”
“The people in and around Colne are insanely loyal. Once they trust you, they’ll do anything to get behind you”
And he’s right. It’s Wednesday lunchtime, and you can almost smell excitement in the air— or maybe it’s the scent of their popular CBLT sandwiches (that’s chicken, bacon, lettuce, and tomato butty to you and me). Either way, the place is buzzing with customers, and happy ones at that. “The standard of food is phenomenal—it always has been. We pride ourselves on using the freshest ingredients from local suppliers. We cater to everyone. The sandwich menu is really popular, especially our CBLTs!” laughs Adam.
The duo admits that the main ingredient in their success story is their staff, who, after initially losing their jobs, continued to stick by Ollie and Adam.
“It was about three weeks where everyone was in limbo; we didn’t know what was happening,” says Adam. “They could have gone and worked anywhere. They all decided to wait until we had the go-ahead.”
With two days before they were due to open, their team worked day and night to ensure the bar and restaurant were ready to open the doors to their new beginning.
“The people in and around Colne are insanely loyal. Once they trust you, they’ll do anything to get behind you. Our landlord was absolutely brilliant in getting us started. He’s been very supportive. When we reopened, we had local businesses and people reaching out to help us out of the goodness in their Ollie Spark and Adam Barron hearts, doing anything they could to support us. Situations like the one we found ourselves in really do bring out the kindness in people,” says Ollie.
With plans for a full refurb after the Blues Fest, the lads are excited for their new futures. “It’s a beautiful building, and we want to put our spin on it. We were dead set on that, but then we saw how busy it was and how happy people were for us to be back,” says Ollie. “We didn’t want to lose momentum by closing again.
Ollie and Adam outside Tubbs
“This year, we get to choose our bands, which is massive. We’ve just signed up with the Blues Society and have got The Jed Thomas Band on, who also happen to be my mum and dad’s favourite! We’ll be serving beer all day, with a stripped-back menu after lunch.”
Adam’s menu is eclectic and designed to cater to a wide variety of tastes and preferences. Whether you’re in the mood for small plates perfect for sharing, generous sharing dishes ideal for group dining, or a refined à la carte selection for a more formal dining experience, this is the place.
Open seven days a week, from 9 a.m., Tubbs Bar and Restaurant is raring to go. With Ollie’s excellent front-of-house skills and Adam’s culinary talents combined with their friendly and professional staff, these guys are serving up much more than delicious food (oh, and don’t forget the cocktails, too!).
“Our team are an amazing group of individuals. We’re fortunate. There aren’t many places where you get a group of people who are willing, competent, and talented, who are all willing to work for you, and who are already in a spot that you know works,” says Ollie. “We could not walk away from that.”
ColneLife June/July/Aug 25
