The Wooden Cross, formerly The Harringay Arms, in Crouch Hill, has finally reopened ready for the weekend.
The pub is run by Paul McAstocker and wife Rebecca Smithson, who also run the Prince of Wales pub in Highgate Village.
Paul said they had renamed the pub as a “nod to Crouch End’s famous wooden cross”.
He said: “The old Harringay Arms has been opened and closed so many times by so many people the name’s been decimated, there’s a real mixed energy.
The Wooden Cross, formerly the Harringay Arms (Image: David Winskill)
“It needed a rebrand. That’s upset a few people but in the long run to bring back a pub, it needed to be rebranded.
“We’re bringing a proper pub back. We’ve partnered with North & Ten bagel who bring a sturdy offering on the food.”
He added: “It’s been good, people are just excited because the pub’s been opened and closed over the past few years.
“People are sceptical we’ll be here in six months time and we assure them we will.
“Because we’ve got the Prince of Wales and run that well, people are more accommodating and trust.”
Hornsey Historical Society member David Winskill had speculated the name change was to do with the area’s history.
He previously told the Ham&High: “The origin of the name Crouch End was originally Cross End. In Medieval times when two manors met, sometimes they’d erect a cross.
“With the manor of Hornsey where it met Topsfield, one end of the manor was the church end, where St Mary’s Church is, and the other end was the cross end, and that is roughly where the clock tower stands.”
About the reopening he said: “The entire hospitality industry is having a real hard time.
“It’s absolutely brilliant that this lovely old pub is being brought back into use and all the old regulars and new customers wish them all the very best.”
