liquor licence was suspended for five months in 1988, has been taken over.

Newly-formed Mirage Ltd. has bought the operations side of the business, but not the building which will continue to be owned by Robin Hood Enterprises.

Mirage has taken on none of the business' debts, most of which are understood to lie with the mortgage on the property.

Mirage is owned by Bank of Bermuda loans administrator Mr. Rick Olson, his wife Karen, accountant Mr. Gary Sheppard, and his wife Robin.

Mr. Olson said yesterday that no major changes were planned to the pub, which is located on Richmond Road, Pembroke, until after the summer season.

But he hinted that more effort will be put into improving the restaurant side of the business, with a change in menu likely.

Savings will be made by moderating costs, although this will not include any cuts in the staff of 21, ten of whom are full-time.

"We're looking to get a better crowd of people in here and take on day to day control, which the previous owners did not do,'' said Mr. Olson.

"We'll clean the place up and lay a new carpet immediately but we want to take a long, hard look at the business during the summer before we decide what to do with it.'' All of the pub's staff are being retained.

Mirage bought the assets of the business from the Robin Hood Pub and Restaurant Ltd., which is owned by Robin Hood Enterprises Ltd. and Mr. John Scupham.

Robin Hood Enterprises, which is owned by Mr. Simon Scupham, who is John's brother, and Mr. Dudley Hollis, still owns the property and has given Mirage a 15-year lease.

Negotiations for the sale began last September and the deal took effect last weekend.

Mr. Olson said the business had lost "significant amounts of money'' since its liquor licence was suspended for five months in 1988 after complaints about music being too loud.

Even though the licence was given back, the pub was told it could not play live music after 11 p.m.

The pub has a history of bad relations with nearby residents, some of whom have repeatedly objected to the annual applications by the pub to renew its liquor licence.

"We will certainly be seeking to improve the relationship with our neighbours,'' said Mr. Olson. "We will be making an effort to try to establish some line of communication so any differences can be settled amicably.''