British pub chain JD Wetherspoon is set to open its first pub in mainland Europe in January 2026.
The company will launch the Castell de Santa Bàrbera pub in the departures area of Spain’s Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández Airport.
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The venue will offer a menu broadly in line with that of the group’s UK pubs, including breakfast items, burgers and pizzas.
It will also serve dishes tailored to the local market such as garlic prawns and Spanish omelette.
The pub will provide 1,000ft² of internal space and feature an outdoor terrace.
JD Wetherspoon founder and chairman Tim Martin said: “We are very much looking forward to opening our first overseas pub.
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By GlobalData“We believe it will be popular with people travelling home from Alicante Airport.
The group is looking to expand into international transport hubs.
Martin said: “We aim to open a number of pubs overseas in the coming months and years, including those at airports.”
The new site will run daily from 6am to 9pm.
Last year, JD Wetherspoon announced plans to add to its London estate with a new pub near Waterloo station after investing £2.5m ($3.26m) in the site.
The pub, called Lion and Unicorn, occupies part of the upper ground floor of the Sidings, a redevelopment of the former Eurostar terminal.
Wetherspoon’s choice of the name, Lion and Unicorn, pays homage to the Festival of Britain, which took place in 1951 near the location.
