Welcome to Meet the Publican, our regular feature highlighting the brilliant folk behind the pubs across our branch area.

Continuing the series, we chatted with Lucy Farrington, landlady of Stack Real Ale Cafe in Hornsea. Stack Real Ale Cafe has been the driving force behind the Hornsea real ale scene since 2014. And, despite having to relocate in 2024, continues to thrive with even more exciting plans on the horizon.

We caught up with Lucy to talk about all things micropubs, new ventures and the perils of backless stools!

Lucy has spearheaded the real ale scene in Hornsea since 2014.

Yorkshire Wolds CAMRA: Congratulations on your inclusion in The Good Beer Guide 2026. What does this accolade mean to you?

Lucy: My bar has now been included in The Good Beer Guide 10 times, which is great! It definitely helps bring visitors to Hornsea; prior to 2014, the town was very limited when it came to real ale.

How did you get into running a pub in the first place?

It was a combination of wanting a career change after having my second child—rather than returning to full-time accounting—and feeling there was a real shortage of great places to drink in Hornsea. I’d heard about micropubs becoming an alternative on the high streets at the time and so visited a few and loved them. I was able to pick my own opening hours and work around those parental duties, like doing the school run!

You first launched as a pop-up at the 2014 Hornsea Carnival. Did you ever imagine back then that 12 years later you’d be running a permanent, staple venue?

Oh yes! The pop-up was just for Hornsea Carnival weekend but the intention was always to be permanent.

The abrupt closure of the original site in May 2024 left local ale lovers devastated. What gave you the drive and resilience to pivot so quickly and open the new location just a couple of doors down that same summer?

Along with my customers and staff, we were all devastated. They gave me so much support to carry on and reopen down the road, even helping with the move and the fit out. It was all very much appreciated as the whole experience almost financially ruined me. I couldn’t have done it without everyone’s help and support and will always be so grateful to all who continue to help and support us.

Now at 140 Newbegin, Stack has been a firm Hornsea favourite for over a decade.

Do you miss the decor of the old venue, or does the new vibe suit the cafe better?

The new venue is so much better and enables us to also do food in our tiny kitchen. We also have outside seating in the lovely afternoon sun, car parking across the road and excellent neighbours offering a good diversity of drinking establishments at this end of town. On nice days, it’s really buzzing on the terraces and there’s often a wait for a seat.

You keep a brilliant rotation of four real ales alongside craft beers. What is your philosophy when sourcing casks, and how much do your regulars influence what goes on the Real Ale Finder board?

We often order our beer with direct input from our customers, on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, for example. We also visit other towns and try their real ale pubs on a regular basis to get ideas about what’s good and popular.

How important is it for a modern micro-pub to be a community hub rather than just a place to get a drink?

It’s really important! We have plenty of customers who are retired and/or live alone, so coming to Stack might be their only interaction with other people some days. We’re also seeing more people moving to the area who don’t know anyone yet; our intimate seating layout makes it easy to strike up a conversation, as table-sharing is common during busy times. Lots of friendship groups have been formed in both the old and new Stack, and these groups even arrange bus trips to other towns to drink real ale there.

Being completely dog-friendly is a massive hit with locals and coastal tourists alike. Who is the most famous four-legged regular at Stack?

Oh, we have so many but it’s probably Gizmo the Shih Tzu as he’s in most teatimes with his owner who loves a pint of stout or porter in a dimpled jug. His owner has been a regular since we opened in 2014 and has probably drunk more different ales here than anyone else!

Exciting news has reached Yorkshire Wolds CAMRA about your plans to open a new real ale location (separate to Stack Real Ale Cafe) called The Amber Room on Bridge Street in Bridlington. What drew you to Bridlington, and what can you tell us about the vision for this new venue?

I’ve always loved Bridlington and when we saw the old Dockside building up for sale last year it was perfect timing with my husband Julian retiring from the Fire Brigade. He wasn’t ready to retire completely and, thanks to our fantastic, well-established team running Stack, we’ve been able to step back and focus our energy on this exciting new project.

Downstairs has had to be reconfigured (we’ve had some fire safety work to do), meaning we’ve been able to create a nice big bar - one of the things that has made Stack so popular over the years. Upstairs is still in the ideas stage as we want to get the main bar up and running as soon as possible with the same good beer concept as Stack.

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Wife and husband team Lucy Farrington and Julian Broxham are now embarking on their new venture in Bridlington: The Amber Room

Will The Amber Room carry over the same vibe and cafe hybrid style of Hornsea, or will it have its own unique personality tailored to the Bridlington crowd?

The vibe will be very similar but will evolve over time as we pride ourselves in listening to our customers and what they want. However, there won’t be any karaoke as we feel plenty of other bars already have that angle covered!

How do you plan to balance your time between the established community in Hornsea and building a brand-new real ale footprint in Bridlington?

As mentioned previously we have a great, trustworthy, established team in Hornsea who are all loved by our customers.

Micro-pubs have faced massive economic headwinds over the last few years. What do you think is the secret to survival and success for independent publicans today?

It’s not as easy as it was; staff costs especially are hitting us really hard at the moment as well as energy bills. We’ve been forced to reduce our hours this winter as otherwise I don’t think it would be worth opening at all. Luckily, we have a fantastic number of hardcore regulars who love good beer and have willingly adapted their drinking times so that we do stay open. We encourage our staff to taste the beer themselves, so they can advise customers who aren’t sure what to choose. Also, my husband looks after the beer in the cellar like his life depends on it!

Modern technology has a place in this micropub, with an information screen telling you all you need to know about the beer selection, upcoming events and much more besides.

When you finally get to sit down at the end of a busy week and pour yourself a pint, what style of real ale are you reaching for?

I’m a cider drinker myself and we have just expanded to have three real ciders on draught and two on keg. My husband drinks the real ale though and his tastes have actually changed over the years from a more traditional malty bitter to a hoppy pale such as Stacked by Buxton Brewery (which he tried on a recent trip to Buxton without realising it was 5.2%!!).

How can CAMRA branches and local beer enthusiasts best support venues like Stack and the upcoming Amber Room beyond just popping in for a pint?

Score our beers please! It’s essential to help keep us in The Good Beer Guide next year and also gives us feedback about how well we’re doing.

Over the last decade of pouring pints in Hornsea, what is the single funniest or most memorable story that has happened behind the bar?

Once a customer came in and accidentally tied his shoe laces together. When he stood up to go to the loo, it didn’t end well but luckily he wasn’t injured by his fall into the middle of a packed bar! We also had a few problems with customers who were previously used to sitting on chairs now sitting on stools at the new location due to the smaller space. One of my favourite regulars ended up on his back on the floor forgetting there is no back on a stool! Again, he suffered no harm apart from maybe to his pride!

For those of us with balance issues, there is (thankfully!) a ready supply of sturdy chairs!

Quick-fire questions

Favourite beer style? Hoppy pale for my husband.
Favourite cider? Rhubarb.
Favourite pub anywhere in the UK? House of The Trembling Madness, Stonegate, York.
Favourite pub snack? Salted peanuts.
Beer garden or cosy snug? Cosy snug.
What's always playing on the pub stereo? Songs from the 70s.

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

Are you a local publican? Get featured next!

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!

If you haven't done so already, why not read our recent Meet the Publican features on Mark Bates at Three B's Micropub and Lena Pennington at Old Ship Inn.

Keep your eyes peeled for a new Meet The Publican soon.