The awards are always one of my highlights of the year, as we get to recognise some amazing businesses and wonderful operators and not only give them a moment in the spotlight, but also offer a real and meaningful boost to their business with a great PR opportunity.
This year was no exception, and I was delighted to see so many great pubs, finalists and winners, join us in Leeds this week for the grand unveiling.
We saw some cracking businesses get up on stage, from those doing an amazing job catering for families to others smashing it out of the park with their food offer.
Investment and resilience
But the one thing that really struck me was the story behind our overall Great British Pub of the Year, the Crown Wharf.
This is a pub that didn’t exist six years ago, and was something of a passion project for the Joules brewery that owns it.
Building a brand new, huge pub from scratch on one of the companies original brewery sites, the business focused on using reclaimed and recycled materials, and giving back to the community with the creation, and donation, of both a community arts theatre and a heritage centre.
Almost derailed by the pandemic, the business struggled on and managed to open as the lockdown’s ended in 2021.
It’s a great story of investment, resilience, vision and passion, and the creation of an operation that has become an integral part of the community it serves. And, even better, it’s a great pub with a fantastic offer to boot!
Positive impact
But I can’t help but reflect on the fact that this was an investment made back in the pre-pandemic world, an investment that has created a large number of jobs and put some real and meaningful support back into the community of Stone.
And I wonder, in the current environment, would such a pub be created now, given the levels of taxation and stifled economic policy the country faces?
Would we see a business that has done so much to bring arts back to the community, that has employed many and helped to boost the local economy open like this now? Would anyone be brave enough to make that investment. I think, sadly, we know the answer to that.
So let’s shout loudly about the success of the Crown Wharf, let’s highlight the amazing and positive impacts it has had and maybe we can get some recognition of the scale and value that the hospitality sector offers both socially and economically.
