Butcombe, the brewery and pub chain based just outside Bristol, has teamed up with charity MIND to increase awareness of mental health issues among its customers and staff.
The pair are launching MIND Mondays – weekly coffee afternoons to encourage people to meet, talk more and enjoy a free coffee or tea in its 42-strong pub estate across the West of England. 
They are also offering all 800-plus staff working at Wrington-based Butcombe the chance to go on a mental health awareness course.
This will help them recognise when fellow team members or customers are suffering with poor mental and would benefit from support from MIND.
MIND Mondays will take place every Monday between 3pm and 6pm until the end of February. They kick off on January 20 to coincide with ‘Blue Monday’ – the day said to be the most miserable of the year due to a combination of post-Christmas blues, cold dark nights and the arrival of unpaid credit card bills.
Jonathan Lawson, CEO of Butcombe parent group Liberation, said: “Mental health issues are common and likely to affect one in four of us during our lifetimes.
“The pub has long been somewhere where people can see a friendly face and have a chat so we wanted to encourage this even more by launching MIND Mondays to provide a safe haven for those who may need to chat or just be in the company of others.
“Recent studies have shown pubs can act as hubs for some lonely, isolated and vulnerable individuals and that this can make a real difference in their lives.
“At the same time, we have a responsibility to look after over 800 team members across our managed estate, so it’s important that this new emphasis on mental health makes a real and genuine impact.”
Butcombe pubs in the Bristol area include The Bell in Stokes Croft, The Cottage Inn at Baltic Wharf, the Hatchett Inn on Frogmore Street and The Ostrich on Lower Guinea Street.
