A bright red double-decker bus that once hauled tourists through the Smoky Mountains is parked across the street from The Last Queen pub on Main Street in Enon, and on Nov. 7 it will officially reopen as a coffee shop and bakery annex. The British-style pub's owners, Maggie and Adrian Shergill, plan to mark the debut with a market featuring local vendors and activities running from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Last Queen itself sits at 210 E Main Street, describing itself on its website as “a small British pub on Main Street in Enon, run by a British-American family,” according to lastqueenpub.com. The bus annex will serve beer, coffee, tea, pastries and baked goods on its first deck, as reported by the Springfield News-Sun. The coffee menu will include lattes, cappuccinos, americanos, drop coffee, flavored lattes and seasonal specials, while the tea list covers English black tea, chai, green tea and matcha.
Bakers will turn out daily house-made treats like croissants and chocolate chip cookies, plus a weekly rotating selection of British-inspired baked goods, per the same account. Up on the second tier, booths have replaced the bus's original rows of seats, giving riders-turned-customers a place to sit with their coffee.
From Tennessee Tour Bus to English Pub Fixture
Before it ever reached Ohio, the bus spent years in very different roles. It once served public transportation routes near Cambridge, England, as well as in Dorset, according to DaytonLocal. More recently, it worked hop-on, hop-off tour duty in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, the outlet reports, and it still has its steering wheel on the right side, a nod to its English roots.
The Shergills found the bus online and drove it back from Pigeon Forge about a year after establishing the pub in April 2022, according to the news-sun's reporting; the pub's own website states that doors opened in April of 2022. Ethnosh Dayton, however, has described the restaurant as having opened in 2021. The two accounts do not agree on the exact opening year.
Adrian Shergill is from Southampton, England, and the couple now divides their time between Enon and the United Kingdom. They returned to Enon five years before publication and opened the pub afterward, the outlet notes. The bus itself was built in 1993, before its various careers as a transport vehicle and tour attraction.
Pub Classics Still Anchor the Original Menu
While the bus prepares for its coffee-and-bakery chapter, the pub across the street continues serving its core British menu, including fish and chips, shepherd's pie, steak and stout pie, chicken curry, and bangers and mash. Once a month, the pub also slows things down for what its website calls “a proper Afternoon Tea,” featuring British-brand tea, scones, finger sandwiches and sweets.
Maggie Shergill, who co-owns the bus and pub alongside her husband, said the bus stands out along Main Street, and that the owners were resolving a few remaining details before its opening. Adrian Shergill added that customers and the community have responded positively to the bus so far. In a social media post, the pub said, “We're excited to restore and renovate for future fun and festivities.”
Future Hours and Event Rentals
For now, the bus is set to operate Thursday through Sunday, from morning through early afternoon, though the owners plan to expand those hours in the future, per the Springfield News-Sun's reporting. The bus can also be rented out for private events, adding another use beyond its daily coffee and bakery service.
Ethnosh Dayton has also reported that English Tea Time events are planned for the red bus, suggesting the vehicle's role may keep growing alongside its new coffee counter. The bus remains parked directly across the street from the pub, impossible to miss for anyone driving down Main Street in Enon.
