Pub battles back from Covid lockdowns to win CAMRA title
Regulars at a Codsall bar are celebrating after scooping a coveted prize.
Love and Liquor has been named the Wolverhampton CAMRA South Staffordshire pub of the year. The premises in Church Road was converted from a shop and the hostelry was only opened in December 2019 by friends Jonathan Allen and Nicky Hickman, with staff having to deal with two lockdowns since then.
Despite that, they have thrived and fought off stiff competition from over 60 pubs in the South Staffordshire area, with CAMRA inspectors rating venues on quality of beer; decor and furnishing; cleanliness and service; welcome and atmosphere; community focus and overall positive impression.
Jonathan Allen said they were delighted to have been recognised so soon after they had opened.
He said: "The fact you have to score highly all round is satisfying, though obviously the quality of the beer is a big factor with CAMRA as it is scored.
"But we do try to involve the community and provide something for everyone from the range and quality of drinks we sell to live music, television sport upstairs and most of all a friendly welcome.
"Although the lock down was quite tough on the pub trade we did find that people got used to table service during it and being a small venue, we have basically maintained that and it seems to work well - we get a good mix of regulars and new customers coming in and they seem to enjoy what we provide."
Jonathan and Nicky received their prize from a representative of the South Staffs CAMRA branch in a ceremony on Sunday.
