Punch pair are a Shining example
by MA Reporter
A combination of entrepreneurial flair and outstanding attention to detail has been rewarded with a top licensed trade award for two Manchester business partners.
Roger Ward and Steve Pilling, who run the historic city centre pub, Mr Thomas's Chop House, have been crowned overall winners in the Punch Taverns Shine awards.
Beating off stiff competition from 1,400 nominated Punch outlets around the UK, Ward and Pilling won a regional award for "Best Food Experience", along with their place in the national final. They were selected from the 15 finalists as the overall event winners at a ceremony in London.
The partners received a staggering 20% of the 8,400-plus votes cast by pub customers and fellow licensees in a tense telephone vote in aid of the Marie Curie Cancer Care charity.
Said Ward: "We are both completely overwhelmed by this award, which is made even better coming from pub-goers and our industry peers. Getting this far has been a combined effort and I would like to thank all of the team at Mr Thomas's for their ongoing commitment and support.
"With the help of Punch Taverns we have invested a great deal of time and money into Mr Thomas's and this award is very much the next step in a detailed programme of ongoing development for the business."
Mr Thomas's Chop House is living proof of the old maxim that small is beautiful. Despite having less than 1,000sq ft of licensed drinking area, in just a few years Ward, Pilling and their team have grown beer volumes from less than 200 barrels a year to more than 700.
Former advertising agency boss Ward and trained chef, Pilling whose culinary credits include having cooked for the Queen first joined forces at the Cross Street tavern in 2000. Since then, they have invested more than £200,000 in partnership with Punch in improving facilities and restoring many of the Grade-II listed Victorian building's original features.
As this year's Shine award champions, they have won £1,000, a holiday for two in Mauritius and £750 in spending money.
