Ipswich pubs enjoy big business after East Anglian derby win

A bar owner revealed his venue was close to selling out of beer after Ipswich Town beat Norwich City in the East Anglian derby.

Nearly 30,000 fans packed into Portman Road for The Tractor Boys' 3-1 win over their bitter rivals with venues in the town reporting strong trade before and after the Championship battle.

It was the first time in 16 years that Town, who were relegated to the Championship last season, had beaten The Canaries.

Bradley Tai, owner of Curve on Princes Street, said they had been pulling pints at a similar rate to the day when Ipswich were promoted to the Premiership.

"The overarching feeling was happiness, jubilance and the atmosphere was euphoric," he explained.

"We tripled our usual football match day stock order and even that was close to selling out.

"Four o'clock hit and I was getting a bit nervous because I was looking in the cellar thinking, the kegs are leaving the building quickly now. Hopefully we won't run out, and we didn't."

Mr Tai said fans had been "more upbeat" this season with the better prospect of winning games and due to there being more home matches they had been busier.

Steven Wells, owner of the Shamrock on Tacket Street said he opened his pub slightly earlier than usual at 10:30 BST so fans could get in before the 12:00 kick off.

"When the first goal went in, the pub was celebrating with lots of cheering and clapping," he explained.

"Then four minutes later when the equaliser went in it was like, 'Oh no, history is going to repeat itself, yet again'.

"In the end of course it was a cracking victory, great atmosphere which grew and grew."

Mr Wells said it had been one of the better trade days this year, with "consistent" business throughout.

"It was emotional... to stand back and watch it all, it was so good to see so many people from different places and backgrounds just having fun, it was wonderful," he added.

Lee Walker, chief executive of Ipswich Central, the town's Business Improvement District (BID), said the result was "a great reminder of what moments like this can do for a place like Ipswich".

"You wait 16 years for a derby win and when it comes, the whole town feels it," he said.

"I saw the impact myself – people coming together, sharing that pride and excitement, and businesses really benefiting from the extra buzz."

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