Gareth Jones was retail sales manager of the King & Barnes brewery in Horsham for nearly 14 years and was responsible for running the store there. However, in 2000 the brewery was taken over by Hall and Woodhouse and shut down. "When the brewery closed, I thought I could start up my own shop and keep the drinkers of Horsham happy," he says. In August 2001, nearly a year to the day that King & Barnes closed, The Beer Essentials in Horsham opened its doors.