Gerry O'Brien: Celebrating 25 years as licensee at the Churchill Arms

This year is a bit of a milestone for me. I am celebrating 25 years of being a licensee here at the Churchill Arms. This means everything to me. This is my life. I have been working behind bars since the age of 18 and I love what I do. 

My life is all about the people I work with and the people I meet. To me, customers coming to the pub are people visiting my home. The pub is my front room and I look at it as if people come to see me as well as my home. 

For each of the 25 years I have been here I have grown my business and I am still attracting new people. I see myself as having been very lucky to have a very old-style pub which attracts people in to begin with. But the pub would be nothing without a personality behind the bar.

I am here in Kensington Church Street, which is a special part of London, and we meet people from all over the world. But we have a huge neighbourhood community. To me it is about making everybody who walks though the doors feel welcome and that is what counts.

You need to be organised, business minded, well-read and up on what is going on in the world to run a pub. I read three different newspapers every day.

You have to be able to connect with and make conversation with everyone who walks in. Or at least try. And of course, especially with where we are located and the large number of tourists we attract, you have to know your beers and the history of them inside out.

Some licensees are hands-off and spend a lot of time running the business from their office. But if there is not much going on out front, there will be nothing to sort out, out back. Personality is what keeps the pub full and without that there would be no business. People come first.

I am very proud of my pub and the success that has come with it over the years. Because I love what I do, sometimes I do not realise the effect this has.

I am always very aware that each day is like going on stage to entertain your audience. No matter what problems you may be having, you leave them behind you. And this is always passed on to my team.

My team are very, very important to me at all times and I feel like we are one family. Over the years six of my family are now running their own pubs, having trained with me here and this will carry on, I'm sure.  

I joined the trade 41years ago. It was only supposed to be temporary. I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. But I loved the response I got from the customers and here I still am.

Pubs are about the people. And without great people, no matter how good you are at organising everything else, there'll be no pub.