The Phoenix: Owner confirms iconic Dundee pub has been sold as he hints at new landlord’s plans for venue

The owner of the Phoenix in Dundee has confirmed the iconic pub has been sold.

Alan Bannerman put the Nethergate bar – where Frank Sinatra is rumoured to have been a customer once – up for sale last summer.

Alan, 76, has confirmed he has now sold the venue, which had an asking price of more than £800,000.

The pub will change hands in the next few weeks.

The identity of the new owner has yet to be revealed.

Reflecting on his near-four decades of pulling pints, Alan – a former hairdresser – says locals believed he “wouldn’t last five minutes” when he took over the pub in the 1980s.

Phoenix was Dundee pub owner’s ‘pride and joy’

He told The Courier: “I think I’ve proved them wrong but that was the opinion of some when a hairdresser took over the pub.

“I’ve had several businesses but the Phoenix was my pride and joy, it’s the one I loved.

“All my other ventures were decent businesses that made me money but the Phoenix made me laugh.

“I’ll miss the people and the staff but it was time to move on.”

Despite the pub coming under new ownership, Alan says he expects it to stay the same venue people have come to love for more than 150 years.

He said: “People might find the new hands are very similar to the old ones.

“Customers like the Phoenix for what it is.

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

“Although I’m saying goodbye after 39 years, 90% of the staff are staying, they are part of the fixtures and fittings.

“Customers and the staff have known each other for years.”

Owner of Phoenix ‘doesn’t want to get too emotional’ as Dundee pub sold

Alan says he will not become a stranger after he has moved on from the pub.

He added: “I will pop in and say cheerio but I don’t want to get emotional.

“It will be a great loss to my family.

“I liked being ‘Mr Phoenix’ but that’s going to stop and I’ll have to get used to it.

“We’ve had such a wide clientele over the years and very little trouble.

“I do plan on heading back as a customer in the coming months once the sale is concluded.

“I know a lot of folk that drink in there.”

The Phoenix features on The Courier’s list of Dundee pubs that deserve classic status.

We have also taken a look at some of the best-loved bars from the city’s past.