Since The British Pantry opened in 1978, it has gone through a number of expansions to include Neville’s Restaurant and The Three Lions Pub.

And this year, the family run business will be expanding beyond its downtown Redmond location as Three Lions will be opening two new locations this spring: One at 23525 N.E. Novelty Hill Rd., A-101 on Redmond Ridge and one at 10111 Main St. in downtown Bothell.

Alvia Redman, who took over running things with her brother Neville after their mother Mavis “semi-retired,” said Three Lions was the newest addition to the company. The pub opened in 2006 after the dress shop that previously occupied the space at 8115 161st Ave. N.E. closed.

“It was something me and my brother had always dreamed about,” she said about opening a pub.

Redman said when her mother started the Pantry, it fulfilled a need in the community and gave British ex-pats a place to go that reminded them of home. Three Lions was a continuation of this, filling a different need in the community. While a lot of the clientele is in their 30s, Redman said their demographics range from mid-20s to 60s. The pub also brings in soccer fans as they air matches every week.

“They will all be talking and getting along,” Redman said about the customers who frequent the pub, adding that they are her favorite part of Three Lions. “It’s just fun to walk in here.”

She likened Three Lions to “Cheers” as they have a number of regulars who all know each other by name and will even bring in cards for people to sign when it’s someone’s birthday. They are also always welcoming and willing to pull newcomers into the fold, Redman said.

Andrew Pollock has worked at Three Lions for almost three years and said this family atmosphere, where people will buy Christmas presents for each other and gather to raise a glass to a regular who recently died, is his favorite thing about the pub. Having grown up traveling back and forth between Scotland and Seattle, he said pubs in the United Kingdom are often local gathering spots and the pub owners and bartenders develop relationships with their regulars. For Pollock, Three Lions is the closest he has ever seen this type of atmosphere stateside, adding that he has gotten to know their regulars so well that when he sees a familiar car pull up, he can have that customer’s drink ready for them before they even walk in the door.

“That’s part of the relationship you hope to develop with your clientele,” he said.

Pollock will be managing the Three Lions in Bothell and said developing these types of relationships will be hard in a new location, but he is looking forward to a new challenge.

Like the current Three Lions in Redmond, the Bothell location will be 21 and older. Redman said they plan to keep the same hours, opening from 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekdays and extending their hours to 1 a.m. on weekends. However because downtown Bothell is near the University of Washington, Bothell and Cascadia Community College, she said they may extend their hours later on the weekend for the student crowd.

On Redmond Ridge, Redman said the new Three Lions will be open to all ages. The pub will be separated into two rooms upon entry, with an underage area on one side and a 21 and older area on the other. Each area will have the same menu.

Redman said they chose to do this to accommodate the population on Redmond Ridge.

“There are more families up there,” she said.