Jennifer Southall said that she used to go there every Friday night with her sisters, while Chris Spruce played darts for the ladies team for years. Lisa Forrest was a former landlady of the Open Hearth and, alongside Roger Robertson, learnt "all I knew about running a pub and got my pub licence". "To be honest, best time of my life. Met some fab friends I call my family. "God bless you all, so sad to see this happen to the place." Parties seem to have been a staple at the Open Hearth, with Kelly Anderson recalling her father's 40th birthday and Sandra Thacker her engagement party back in 1978.