For new business owners Joel Kirk and Amy Owen, it wasn’t finding the perfect pub that persuaded them to take the leap into running their first site – it was finding the ideal brewery to work with.
According to Amy, who had previously worked as a pub manager, she and former estate agent Joel had been tentatively looking at pubs for around a year before she came across a social media post from Everards, which was to prove beneficial.
“Taking on a pub was a massive life decision for us and our kids, and it was important that whoever we spoke to handled it the right way. We didn’t have the best experience with a few of the breweries that we’d contacted.
“Then I saw a social media post from Everards and went through to the website. Literally, from reading the information on the website, the way the company came across, the ethos, we knew we were onto something."
“I had a first conversation with Dave Pawson from Everards and it was professional and he was genuinely interested in us. I’d not had that experience before,” recalls Amy.
“At that time, Everards didn’t have any pubs that were of interest to us, but we thought ‘they are the right brewery for us’, so we decided to wait for the right pub to come up. We chose Everards first rather than choose a pub first,” says Joel.
A few months later, they found their perfect pub – The Coach and Horses at Markfield. The couple, together with their sons, aged one and two, moved into the village venue in June 2024.
“When we stepped in here, we knew this was the place. We’d looked at a few pubs that were really beautiful, but for us, we were coming in as a family and we needed a pub that suited us,” says Joel.
“Here, things like the garden and the family-friendly atmosphere made us feel that we could see ourselves here for the long term.”
“Running a pub isn’t a job, it’s a complete lifestyle and it’s a lifestyle that we’ve chosen for our children too, so it needs to be somewhere they’re comfortable and where it feels right for them to be downstairs,” adds Amy.
“This pub isn’t just family-friendly, it goes way beyond that. We don’t just accept kids here, we embrace them, we embrace families coming in. We actively put on events for kids, we’ve added more toddler toys to our outdoor play area, and we’ve added games for families to play in the pub. It’s all been well received so far.”
Other changes made by the couple have included redecorating the commercial spaces and relaunching their restaurant – Coach Kitchen – complete with a new menu, with a focus on fresh food and good value for money.
Amy and Joel are keen to introduce more events, and in the run-up to Christmas are holding their first breakfast with Santa sessions, and a community carol service.
Looking back over their first few months as business owners, Joel says it couldn’t have gone better.
“We’ve been really lucky with the community and the locals have really embraced us and our boys.”
As for juggling the demands of running a pub and looking after two young children, Joel reckons there’s a key ingredient – “plenty of coffee!”
“Everyone thought we were mad, but we decided to do it while they were still young, before they had that expectation of what life would be like,” he continues.
“Also, I was working as a manager at a pub, Joel was working 8am until 6pm, so we were like ships passing in the night,” adds Amy. “Working for somebody else, you can’t be as flexible with your time.
“Now we’ve got the pub, we never really stop working, but we can be flexible. If we want to take our boys out for the afternoon we can.
“The most important thing for us is freedom of time and running our own pub has afforded us that.”
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