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The 52-year-old transformed the historic pub into a thriving community hub
A pub landlord who was once barred from the establishment he now owns has described how he transformed it from a run-down travesty to a place that’s “packed to the rafters every weekend”.
Andy Evans runs The Cricketers Arms in St Helens alongside his wife Denise after the couple took the plunge with a major career change over a decade ago.
The 52-year-old had worked as a postman for Royal Mail for 23 years before he decided to switch things up.
Likewise, Denise had grown tired of working at a fruit and veg shop and together, so the pair made the brave decision to drop everything in order to take on a run-down local pub and turn it into their dream venue.
Speaking to Liverpool Echo, Andy said: “It was 13 years ago that we bought the pub and at that point it was practically boarded up and we had no experience whatsoever.
“We have always lived within the WA postcode area but this pub was never really on our radar to come into to have a drink.”
He added: “As an 18 year old I got barred from here for swearing. There wasn’t the mix of people we have now where we’ve got customers from 18 up to 90 years of age. Maybe I was chucked out not barred, but it’s a quirky story.”
Since taking on the pub, Andy and Denise have taught themselves everything they need to know about running a venue – including brewing their own beer on site.
Andy learned to brew his own beer five years into running the business.
The pub owner visited other breweries across Merseyside and Yorkshire on his days off from The Cricketers in order to put in shifts where he could learn about the process of brewing beer.
“I wouldn’t say we are experts,” Andy explained. “We are always learning. It’s a pub that’s always evolving and improving and we are evolving and improving with it.
“It has been a gigantic and steep learning curve over the last 13 years.”
He continued: “We get asked a lot ‘what’s it like running a pub’ but the last 13 years has taught me to expect the unexpected.
“When you think you’ve seen it all, something will come up that you could never have predicted. There’s always some sort of maintenance to do.”
While Andy and Helen have been at the helm of The Cricketers Arms for 13 years, the pub dates back more than 100 years.
The couple have a pile of historic documents that offer an insight into the building’s past – the oldest of which is dated 1835 and records the sale of the pub from one brother to another, for the princely sum of £29.
Having worked to transform the pub into a popular destination for real ale fans from across the region, Andy and Denise are proud to hold a number of awards for their venue.
The Cricketers Arms was named Pub of the Year 2025 in the St Helens and District Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) Competition 2025.
“We’ve got a lot of regulars,” Andy said. “We aren’t the easiest pub to get to from the town centre but there’s a bus stop 100 yards away so we get a lot of people coming down from Liverpool and a lot of people are now regulars.
“On the weekend it’s not uncommon for the pub to be packed with people visiting us from all over the country.
“I like to say we are a regulars’ pub Monday to Thursday and then on the weekend I can look around the pub and it’s packed to the rafters and I don’t recognise any of the customers whatsoever.”
He added: “No one could ever accuse us of sitting back and resting on our laurels. People are always saying ‘what are Andy and Denise doing now?’.”
Andy sees The Cricketers Arms as “a community pub” and regularly hosts fundraising events for local charities.
The pub hosts a quarterly beer festival called Drink to Feed, where every penny raised is donated to St Helens Food Bank.
All the beer sold as part of the festival is donated, and staff give up their time for free in order to make sure 100% of the profits go towards the charity.
The next Drink to Feed festival will take place over the August Bank Holiday Weekend.
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