Phenomenon breathing life into old boozers
Failing pubs in Birmingham and the Black Country have been saved by landlords who are meeting the demand for more Punjabi – or desi – food. SANJEETA BAINS reports
“THIRTY years ago, most racist jibes were about curry – but now curry is helping unify our communities,” says Bera Mahli.
Bera is the landlord of The Red Cow Pub and Grill in Smethwick, a town where, decades ago, American civil rights activist Malcolm X witnessed first hand segregation in bars and pubs.
Back then the old British boozer would not be such a welcoming place for the Black and Asian community. But fast forward 50 years and things have changed.
Today some may still have the rough boozer exterior – and interior – as well as old men cradling their pints at the bar, but the exotic smells wafting from the kitchen tells me something is very different.
I’m at The Red Cow to talk to Bera about the popularity of desi pubs in the Midlands – old British pubs which are serving up Punjabi ‘desi’ grub.
“I used to work in a hotel on Hagley Road,” he tells me. “I remember saying to one of the managers, ‘why not hire out your function rooms to Asians for weddings?’
“He told me they did once and they couldn’t get rid of the smell of curry for weeks.
“I also vividly remember being sent home from work as a waiter. I was told I could not start my shift because I smelled of curry!”
It’s easy to be transported back to late-80s Midlands with Bera. The jovial 62-year-old sports a distinctive mullet hairstyle that was the height of fashion back then.
A tray of saag paneer and a sizzling mixed grill goes past us and I get an intoxicating whiff of various spices. I can’t help grinning at the irony of what Bera has just told me.
As he quite rightly points out, the curries served up in old boozers are now bringing people together in a positive way rather than be used as a negative marker to highlight racial differences.
Bera starts chuckling. “It’s funny, isn’t?”
He exemplifies how British Asians have been quietly transforming
reviously struggling boozers into ommunity hubs once more – serving p beer and curry.
“Desi means traditional and uthentic to the homeland, the unjab, and that is what the food we rve here is all about. Most people, hether they are white, black, Asian njoy a nice beer and with Indian od it’s even better,” he said.
Bera and his brother Gamy Hayre ok over The Red Cow in 2010. They turned the rundown drinking hole its former glory.
He says: “I think most racism comes om ignorance more than anything. sians can be racist – we have ereotypes of other communities too.
“But in my pub no-one ever feels like they are not welcome. When I took over with my brother it was run by Asians but was on the verge of closing.
“We knew we could turn things around. We had previously managed the Red Fort in Smethwick High Street and made it a good community pub through introducing food and live Punjabi music.
“We knew food was key. And you have to appeal to sports fans!
“At the Red Fort, we had a lot of
West Bromwich Albion supporters and I wanted The Red Cow to be an Albion pub too.
“And it is – every Saturday afternoon when Albion are playing at home the place gets packed. We also own local taxi firm Heritage Cars and, on match day, we supply punters with taxis to the ground. Every home match day, you’ll see a string of six seaters outside the pub.
“We taxi around 100 people. Our drivers are happy, our customers are happy and we’re happy. You can’t run a pub and see it as just a business, you have to provide a good service.
“Back when I was younger, pubs in the Indian community were for men only.
“These days, as they are no longer places just to drink, we have Asian girls, aunties and grandmas.”