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A historic Newcastle pub which has lain empty for several years is set to become the city’s coolest venue following a £1m makeover.

The Punch Bowl Hotel in Jesmond is being reimagined by Dave Carr and the creative team at Frank & Bird Ltd, which turned around the fortunes of The Brandling Villa, in nearby South Gosforth, winner of a number of awards for its dog-friendly features.

Frank & Bird Ltd aims to inject a similar sense of quirky fun – and dog-friendly dinners – into the venue in Jesmond and a recruitment drive is now under way to fill up to 24 roles ahead of a planned opening in April.

Mr Carr said the venue – described as “Bet Lynch meets David Lynch” – will be a twist on the vintage Northern pub with a myriad of influences from his own travels around the world.

New features in the 150-year-old building include lighting inspired by a bar in Reykjavik, Iceland, projection from Ben Mahuda Market in Jerusalem, and electronic toilets from a McDonalds in Tokyo.

The pub will feature actual sawdust, a 50m train replica of the East Coast mainline, Chesterfields built especially for dogs and a Donald Trump dartboard, as well as signage that’s more faithful to local styles – the CIU club.

Mr Carr said: “We’re hoping to recreate some of the best things about pubs and restaurants I’ve seen on my trails, but within the style of a proper, old school pub.

“The pub has always struck me as a classic Scottish & Newcastle pub, and alongside our reinvention of the blue star, the typeface is a nod to that.”

The pub’s menu will also be full of global inspiration, serving everything from small plates and sandwiches, including the Portlandian Hot Honey Drizzle Chicken, and Cologne-style Rostbratwurst and Mushroom Kraut, alongside a menu just for guests’ furry companions.

The bar area, with its record players and range of sherries, will have a separate offering of cured meats, cheese and pickles from small British suppliers.

Alongside 14 cask beers will be Newcastle’s third enomatic dispense system – joining the first in Fenwick Food Hall and second in Carruthers and Kent in Gosforth – allowing the team to sell 25 wines by the glass.

Mr Carr also wants to create a craft beer-style set up for its wines, where people can try little measures of different styles, which will include some rare and interesting varieties from smaller markets, like Romania and Georgia. Korean rice wine, Spanish vermouth and Danish barley wines will all make an appearance.

The Punch Bowl Hotel aims to join its South Gosforth counterpart in being a leader for its dog-friendly features, by investing in bespoke seating and vending machines.

And one of the key facets of the relaunch is the careful restoration of the first floor function room which Mr Carr is recreating as a cinema, comedy and theatre space.

A season of classic films will be shown with admission being donated to a local charity. Weekly comedy nights are also planned alongside a series of wine, beer and cookery schools.

Mr Carr added: “It all might sound a little odd, but I think the pub is the only place where you could bring all these things together. Literary references from Mikhail Bulgakov & Franz Kafka to Raymond Briggs’ Fungus the Bogeyman, pickled eggs & vintage sherry, Talking Heads and Japanese toilets with classic social club signage – you can’t get that in Wetherspoons, eh?”

The Punch Bowl Hotel officially opens on April 12. The first cinema screening will be Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs on April 17.