Arkell’s Brewery has added a new venue to their ever-expanding list of pubs, this time, in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.

The Wiltshire brewer purchased The Sudeley Arms, located on the corner of Prestbury Road and Portland Square, in December of last year, and have completed a full refurbishment with its new tenants – Dodo Pub Co, to a cost of nearly one million pounds. 

The pub has been renamed by Dodo, to The Airs & Graces, after the cockney rhyming slang for the races which felt like the natural choice being so close to the racecourse.

This is the second pub Arkell’s have purchased in Gloucestershire in the last two years, and this time they have partnered with Dodo, who also run The Bottle of Sauce on Ambrose Street in Cheltenham. 

Arkell’s managing director, George Arkell said: “Since COVID, the hospitality trade has been under huge pressure, however, well run community focused pubs are still fantastic businesses to be involved with.  The Airs and Graces, run by the enthusiastic pub group Dodo and its young team, fits squarely in that category.  

“Over the last two years we have invested well over five million pounds in upgrading our existing pubs and purchasing new ones, and we are really excited to have been able to get The Airs & Graces open in time for Easter.  

“We have collaborated with Dodo for over 10 years, on various projects, here in Cheltenham and in Oxfordshire, and love their enthusiasm and support for the local community. We are sure they will do a fantastic job here and that the ‘Airs and Graces’ will be a great addition to Cheltenham.”

Co-founder Dodo, Leo Johnson, added: “We’ve been looking for an eighth site for a while and expanding in Cheltenham seemed like the natural choice for us.”