Welcome to Meet The Publican, our new, monthly feature highlighting the brilliant folk behind the pubs, bars and clubs across our branch area.

To kick off the series, we sat down with Mark Bates, landlord of Three B’s Micropub in Bridlington. It’s been a stellar year for Mark and the team, having scooped a double victory as our Yorkshire Wolds CAMRA Pub of the Year 2026 and Cider Pub of the Year 2026. If this wasn't enough, they have now moved to new premises on Wellington Road in the town centre.

Mark behind the bar of Three B's Micropub's new Wellington Road premises.

We caught up with Mark to talk about great beer, real cider and what makes an award-winning micropub tick...

Yorkshire Wolds CAMRA: First of all, congratulations on Three B's being named Yorkshire Wolds CAMRA Pub of the Year 2026 and Cider Pub of the Year 2026. What did receiving the award mean to you personally?

Mark: It was amazing to receive the news of these accolades. Whilst this is not the first time we have won the awards, it is brilliant to understand that we have the backing of CAMRA in how we run our business.

Looking back to when you first opened Three B's, did you ever imagine the pub would become such a success that you'd need larger premises?

We certainly didn’t perceive a move to a different site when we opened six years ago. However, over the years, whilst the people who found us love what we do, we did get comments saying our location was hard to find.

What inspired you to open Three B's in the first place, and what sort of pub did you want to create?

We wanted to do something different with our lives, so our inspiration was driven by a passion for visiting great real ale venues around the country, particularly micropubs. We wanted to create the kind of place we liked to visit; a nice place with nice drinks appreciated by nice people. We wanted to have somewhere where people spoke to each other and was small enough to encourage conversation.

Moving to a new home is a huge milestone. What made you decide the time was right to take that next step?

We had been at our previous site for four years and were starting to hit a wall. On quiet days, footfall was a struggle, yet on busy Saturdays, we were turning people away because we simply didn't have the space. Moving to our new location solved that—especially with the fantastic new beer garden, which gives us plenty of room to expand when things get busy.

The new premises on Wellington Road, Bridlington

Leaving the original micropub must have been emotional. What will you miss most, and what excites you most about the new premises?

It was certainly a strange feeling when we left Marshall Avenue, but there was also excitement about moving to the new location on Wellington Road. I guess we will always have thoughts about where it all started, but we’re excited about the new place.

How have your regulars responded to the move, and have you welcomed many new faces since opening?

Since we started telling our more regular customers in 2024 about the move, they have been excited with us. We have certainly seen new faces since we moved and look forward to welcoming many more.

The new premises give you much more space. What opportunities does that create that simply weren't possible before?

The new larger premises has allowed us to sell more products than the smaller location. Changes to the line-up at the new pub include one more cask line (now five cask), plus two lagers (up from one), fizzy cider, 6 craft keg beers—unique in Bridlington, plus an extended range of gins and other spirits.

We also have a full kitchen space, meaning we can now offer meals as well as snacks—available all day.

The new beer garden is certainly proving popular with regulars and new visitors alike.

You're a long-standing CAMRA member as well as an award-winning publican. How has your involvement with CAMRA influenced the way you run the pub?

We draw a strong line between being CAMRA members and running the pub. However, as CAMRA members, we have visited many real ale pubs, giving us a feel for what works in a pub, and we’ve used that knowledge to shape our own venue. We’re hugely grateful to CAMRA—our 20 years of experience helping run and manage beer festivals gave us the hands-on knowledge we needed to handle and care for real ale properly.

Three B's has built an excellent reputation for its cask ale and cider. What's your philosophy when it comes to choosing beers and ensuring they're served in top condition?

It's all about quality. We choose high-quality breweries and cider producers that use good-quality ingredients and don’t cut corners with costs. In a given year, we have beers from around 40 different breweries, but at the same time we have 4 or 5 breweries that deliver at least one a month. Real ale has to be served at the correct temperature. We ensure every beer is cooled to the correct temperature with both a professional cellar cooler and a separate inline cooler which keeps the beer in the pipes cool. We have used our beer festival experience to ensure all the beers are kept correctly, so they are in tip-top condition.

What do you look for when selecting breweries and ciders, and how important is it to showcase independent and local producers?

We only use truly independent suppliers for our beers and ciders, and would never knowingly use breweries ‘owned’ by larger concerns. The vast majority of suppliers we use are very small, like ourselves, and often the person who delivers is the same person who makes it and answers the email/phone call. We are very proud that over 90% of our beers come from suppliers within Yorkshire.

The ceiling features pump clips from just some of the hundreds of beers served since the pub first opened.

The real ale scene has changed considerably over the years. What changes have you noticed, and what gives you confidence about the future?

From a drinker's perspective, there’s arguably never been a better time to enjoy beer. Less than 40 years ago, most pubs offered little more than a single bitter from a single brewery. Today, the sheer variety of styles and producers is staggering. Add to that modern innovations like craft keg—an offering unique to us here in Bridlington—and discerning drinkers have an ever-expanding selection to explore.

That being said, there are massive challenges for the hospitality trade. The amount of tax on alcohol makes buying it expensive and, obviously, this is reflected in the price in pubs. Other challenges for small businesses are VAT and other related costs.

Micropubs have become an important part of Britain's pub landscape. What do you think makes them so special?

In a word: people. Intimate spaces mean people actually talk to each other, which you just don't get in large, echoing pubs. Being independent also gives us total freedom over our taps. Un-tied from pub companies, we can buy beer from wherever we like and champion the brilliant local breweries we care about.

The move to new premises means five cask ales can now be offered.

If someone has never visited Three B's before, what can they expect from the experience, and which beer or cider would you recommend they try first?

A great welcome, continued conversation and a large beer garden. We are proud to match customers' drinking requirements to what we sell. Our bestsellers are usually the lighter, hoppy beers, and when it comes to cider, the fizzy Sandford Orchard is very popular.

Now that you've settled into your new home, what's next for Three B's? Are there any plans or ambitions you're particularly excited about?

It took us a long time to make the move to our new home, so we had plenty of time to plan! We’ve just launched our enhanced food menu, and going forward, we'll have a live DJ on the first Saturday of every month. On top of that, we’re planning to launch a regular pub quiz very soon.

Finally, if you could sum up Three B's in just a few words, what do you hope people say about the pub after they've visited?

Quality drinks in a welcoming, relaxed environment.

Quick-fire questions

Your perfect pint? Right temperature, full pint without the need to ask for a top up of a quality beer.
Favourite beer style? As hoppy as possible!
Favourite cider? Sandford Orchard or Sandford Reserve.
Favourite pub anywhere in the UK? Too many to pick from! The Bridge in Topsham, Devon is up there. Amazing choice of beers, with no bar.
Favourite pub snack? Black Country Pork Scratchings, every time!
Beer garden or cosy snug? Definitely a beer garden—as sunny as possible.
What's always playing on the pub stereo? The theme song from Friends (I’ll Be There for You by The Rembrandts)

A huge thank you to Mark for taking the time to chat with us and for his continued commitment to serving outstanding real ale and cider!

Are you a local publican? Get featured!

We love celebrating the amazing pubs, bars and clubs across our region. If you run a venue in the Yorkshire Wolds CAMRA area and would like to be featured in a future Meet The Publican piece, we’d love to hear from you. Send us an email to ku.gro.armac.sdlowerihskroy@retsambew to get involved!

Next month: Be sure to check back next month when we’ll be chatting with Lena Pennington from The Old Ship, Bridlington!