Wetherspoon celebrates 800th opening with Yorkshire launch

JD Wetherspoon will open its 800th outlet tomorrow in North Yorkshire in another milestone for the chain that started life as a single pub in north London in 1979.

By The Newsroom

Published 18th Apr 2011, 11:32 BST

The company has spent £2.1 million developing The Unicorn Hotel in Ripon, in a move creating 50 jobs.

Chairman Tim Martin, who opened the chain’s first pub at Muswell Hill in 1979, said the company aimed to double its tally of pubs to 1,600 in the coming years, creating more than 30,000 jobs in the process.

He said: “The 800th pub opening is a wonderful milestone for the company and we are now looking forward to opening hundreds of new pubs.

“Our existing pubs are extremely popular and we wish to build on that success by opening new outlets across the UK.

“The new openings will result in new job opportunities and that is something which I am sure will be especially welcome.”