The Millbank Arms
Meet James Hodgson, who swapped his corporate job for life at The Millbank Arms, a historic pub with deep local roots. With a shared passion for food and hospitality, he and his wife jumped at the chance to make it their own. Working alongside Mark Johnston High Growth Advisor at Durham Startups, they made it happen. “There’s never a right time—you’ve just got to go for it.”
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My wife grew up in Mile down the road. That’s how I knew about this pub.It’s always been an aspiration of mine. Having worked the last eight years in a very standard job, trying to break that and do something for myself has always been something I’ve wanted to do. It’s just finding the right opportunity.
The Millbank Arms dates back to the 1600s. Despite its rural setting, it’s surprisingly close to both the A1 and the A66. As recently as 2018, it was one of the few pubs that didn’t have a bar. Staff would fetch drinks from the cellar.
The opportunity for the lease came up in April 2024 when we thought, should we go for it? I was working a corporate job in sales and both of us had a really passionate food background. We did—and here we are.
That passion for food shows in the quality of the meals served up for customers and for the guests staying in one of the Millbank Arms’ rooms. A few months after opening, James has no regrets about making his life-changing decision.
It’s been a steep learning curve, as you can imagine. I’d worked up a career in a safe and relatively steady job. You get to the point where you start thinking about having a family, you’ve got more responsibilities. It gets harder and harder to break that and take the risk.
Durham Startups and James’s business advisor, Mark, provided help and support. Mark helped us with advice early on in the programme. He critiqued the business plan I was putting together and recommended various other areas I could work with. In County Durham there are webinars available.
There’s never a right time—you’ve just got to go for it. It’s very satisfying and, ultimately, if you do get it right, you take home the fruits of your labour.