MY PUB: the Dragon Willington, Derbyshire

Situated on the banks of the Trent & Mersey canal, the 18th century building housing the Dragon Willington is a gem in south Derbyshire.

Independent pub group, Bespoke Inns, has been operating the site for more than 15 years.

Jason Chappell took the helm a couple of years ago and has told The Morning Advertiser what it’s like to run this busy beauty, which is also the flagship site of the pub company.

The pub

The ‘Green’ Dragon, Willington, was built in 1777, primarily to serve all the construction workers, building one of the final phases of the Trent & Mersey Canal.

Coincidentally, it was the same year Bass Brewery was founded, just down the canal, in Burton-on-Trent, by William Bass.

Today, the Dragon is a thriving, award-winning, traditional country pub with bedrooms and a fabulous canal-side setting where, among lots of other things, you can while away your time watching narrow boats gently chug along and their passengers can whet their whistle in one of the nicest pub gardens in the Midlands.

However, that’s not always been the case. In 2010, when we bought it, the Green Dragon was on its last legs, practically derelict, with only a handful of customers – sadly, a little like many pubs today.

We bought it, with a vision of creating a vibrant, canal-side pub-restaurant, renovated it, extended it and opened up the back of the pub to expose its beautiful canal-side location.

With that, came a rebranding to ‘the Dragon’ and the rest is history. Well, sort of… in business you have to make your own luck and we had a big stroke of luck. The day after we laid the last piece of turf in the new beer garden, the sun shone for the next six weeks and the Dragon was well and truly reborn.

Fast forward through the years and we’ve bought three of the adjoining cottages and a couple of the adjacent ones that has enabled us to extend the Dragon and the garden further, creating four separate dining areas, a stylish 70-seater main restaurant, a cosy snug, a canal-side dining room and a light-filled conservatory along with an all-weather outdoor dining area.

Plus, we have built a huge prep kitchen to support our sister venues and we have added 13 luxury bedrooms in our cottage B&B.

Of course, from a standing start and new to the industry, we made plenty of mistakes along the way but we learned as we have grown and are now very confident our style and offering works for us and for our wide and varied customer base.

I often get asked what our customer demographic is and, of course, I have the correct stock answer. Our appeal is to anyone from one to 100 who is hungry, thirsty or has something to celebrate or someone to be with. The young children who visited us years ago are now regulars with their own kids and celebrations.

It’s the same with menus, we follow all trends and innovations, as you would expect, but our best-sellers are always ‘pub classics’ – sometimes dressed up a little but still a classic.

We know sunshine is our biggest salesperson and customers flock to us on any bright, sunny or dry day but we also have a comprehensive programme of promotions and events offering, themed nights, quizzes, seasonal celebrations and live music.

In addition, we are committed to and are very active within the local community and are a key focal point for the village.

There is never a dull moment at Bespoke Inns. We have just acquired another new site, which will get the same tried and tested formula to create another vibrant pub with rooms. This will take the Bespoke Inns estate to five sites, along with an outside catering company – The Pantry.

The publican

I joined Bespoke Inns just over two years ago, when I returned to my roots in Leicester – having spent many years pursuing my career all over the country.

I’d heard lots about the Bespoke Inns story and was delighted to be given the opportunity to develop their new, ultra-modern bar and restaurant on the outskirts of Derby, before taking over as GM of the Dragon.

I started in hospitality a long time ago as a chef working in Leicestershire and Berkshire, before securing a position at a Michelin-stared hotel in Aston Clinton, cooking for stars such as Harrison Ford and Noel Edmonds before finally becoming the head chef of a privately owned restaurant in Countesthorpe, which had an AA Rosette.

After meeting my first wife Tina, we decided to enter in to pub management and worked as a management couple at the Horse & Hounds, in Oadby, for Greenalls.

I had worked for Greenalls, for more than 10 years as a relief manager then general manager, finally moving into hotels with Premier Inn.

During the next two decades, I worked with some large companies like Ramada Hotels, Greene King Hotels and then the Coaching Inn Group, at their hotel in Stilton Cambridgeshire – a four-star coaching inn with two AA Rosettes.

All of the hotels I worked at were Grade II-listed, with lots of history, like the Cromwell Hotel in Stevenage, the Bell at Thetford (used in the filming of Dad’s Army) and the Bell at Stilton – famous for its cheese and for rolling Stilton cheeses down the hill every May Day bank holiday.

My experience fitted perfectly with Bespoke’s ethos and vision. Especially as it was planning to add extra luxury bedrooms at the Dragon, the Boot, and Harpurs, and have just acquired a new 21-bedroomed historic hotel in Staffordshire.

The team

We are very lucky to have a great team. We know people are our greatest asset and we work very hard to find people with the same values – sadly, since Covid that has been increasingly difficult.

Exceptional service is what elevates us from lots of our competitors. I know that, if I find people with passion, we can train them to deliver warm, attentive hospitality.

Luckily, many of our core staff have been with us for a number of years, which gives us a solid team base and we have a steady stream of young casual staff constantly coming through the local villages for glass collecting and food running vacancies.

We have approximately 60 full-time and part-time staff front of house and back of house staff, plus the Dragon has a large prep kitchen that supplies all four of our venues as well as our outside catering company.

The Dragon is also home to the Bespoke Inns head office so all team members have to be at their best.

The drink

Our bar is a true showcase of both tradition and trend. At its heart is our own Boot Beer range, including the ever-popular Boot Bitter – an award-winning ale that we used to brew ourselves but is now brewed exclusively for our pubs and is a firm favourite among regulars.

We rotate seasonal ales and guest beers regularly and all our cask offerings are Cask Marque-accredited, ensuring quality and consistency in every pint.

We offer an enticing range of spirits, sourced from well-established and artisan distilleries, a comprehensive wine and cocktail list, and we are offering and extensive choice of low & no alcohol products.

The food

Food is at the heart of what we do. Our food offering spans from breakfast through to dinner and features a diverse mix of classic and globally inspired dishes, developed using fresh, locally sourced ingredients and prepared with care by our talented chefs.

Menus evolve regularly to reflect the seasons and changing tastes all led by our team of head chefs.

The main menu offers a selection of snacks, large plates and small/sharing plates for customers who prefer today’s more social dining style.

Our garden is a vibrant extension to the pub and all our menus are served outside but, during summer months, we also offer an additional street food- based menu.

The events

The Dragon is more than just a pub, it really is a local landmark. We have a full and successful calendar of promotions and events, including themed nights, quizzes, seasonal celebrations and live music.

Our summer party has street food, live tribute bands, DJs, a beer and cocktail festival, trade stands and children’s activities. It is hugely supported by our local community but also attracts lots from neighbouring towns and villages. This event not only creates a fantastic atmosphere but also drives exceptional wet sales for us, making it one of our most successful and profitable annual highlights.

Equally as popular, is our Carols by the Canal event at Christmas, which is now in its 15th year. A festive evening with around 300 local residents celebrating the start of the festive season. Our spacious garden transforms into a winter wonderland, hosting live music, performances from the local choir, a hog roast, mulled wine, chestnuts roasting by an open fire and a special visit from Santa. The event also raises valuable funds for local charities.

We are very proud to be an active and visible presence in our community, supporting and sponsoring key local events, local charities and playing a major role in the village carnival.

The future

We always have lots going on and have renovation/development plans ready to carry out.

Over the years, we have grown our dining capacity extensively, both inside and out, but our bar area, while lovely, cosy and welcoming, is the only area that hasn’t grown significantly.

Now our most recent project – adding an additional six luxury bedrooms is complete – towards the end of this year, or early next year, we are extending out at the front of the building to create a bigger bar area.

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