REAL ales, fine food and good wines are at the heart of a pub reopening today after a five-day refurbishment.

Established pub and restaurant owners Marion and Steve Smith have teamed up with 17-year-old Andre Marsh and will open the doors of re-designed and renamed Georges this afternoon.

Andre, along with brother Arron, 21, ran The Dog in Chatteris but after a battle with landlords Punch Taverns, when the lease bought by their father Nigel was not transferred to them from the former owners, they had to close last July.

But the family see the �20,000 transformation as a chance to start again with Fenland influenced home made food and fine coffee at the centre of their plan to turn the pub into a thriving business.

Nigel Marsh said: “We have turned Georges back to a traditional pub focusing on good home made food, good real ales and a good atmosphere.

“Customers will see a familiar face when they come in as we believe this is vital in creating a friendly atmosphere

“We have teamed up with Marion and Steve who are specialists in home cooking and have had two five star rated pubs in the past.”

The new owners have introduced a real ale and cider shed, which will house up to eight ales and four ciders, many of which will be from micro breweries within 35 miles of the pub and customers will see their pint poured straight from the cask.

Mr Smith said: “We want to play a big part in March. We are going to take part in the March Festival and the St George’s Festival next month.

“The front of the pub has changed and we can’t wait to see the new plants in full bloom as it will make a huge difference to the way the High Street will look.

“We are going to have a real ale festival over Easter and we would like other pubs to join us to create a March beer festival in the future.”

Georges, formerly known as The George, will have three beer gardens, one transformed from the old car park at the front of the pub, a lounge and will include a coffee tavern which boasts six different roasts to match the tastes of customers.

Andre Marsh said: “Hopefully this will be the start of building a chain of pubs for the family.”

The pub will offer takeaway pints from as low as �1.50 each, rivalling supermarket costs with fresh ales on sale.

They are offering free pints for friends when customers go to their website www.georges-march.co.uk and leave feedback as the pub strives to improve service.