UK’s first Gurkha pub in Nuneaton

NUNEATON now plays home to the first Gurkha pub in the country - and it is aimed at bringing the whole community together.

The former Parade pub in Coton Road is now known as Nuneaton Gurkha Corner and is the first of its kind in the UK.

Not only is the old Ex-Servicemen’s Club still open as a bar, the function room at the venue is also being used as place where popular yoga sessions are held, as well as English lessons.

“We want it to be like a Gurkha hub but not just for the use of Gurkhas and Nepalese, but the whole community,” said Om Gurung, MBE, chair of the Nuneaton and Bedworth branch of the British Gurkha Veterans Association.

“We chose the name Gurkha corner because we want it to be a place where people can meet, either in the pub or to join in the activities that we run from here.

“The idea is to keep the pub alive, bring back the people who used to use it, as well as helping our veterans integrate more into the community.”

Mr Gurung said that the pub is owned by a number of Gurkha shareholders and is the first of its kind in the country.

“There has been a house bought by the Gurkha community in London but this is the first pub,” he said proudly.

“We used to use the Newtown centre and then the Sikh Community Centre in Marlborough Road for our yoga and English classes, now we use the function room at Gurkha Corner. We have more than 300 ex Gurkha veterans who live in Nuneaton and these sessions are to help them.”

But he is keen to stress that the venue is open to all: “I look at everyone in the borough as my brothers and sisters,” Mr Gurung said.

“We feel part of the community, we want this to be like a hub for everyone.”

Fittingly, from the main window, the community can see the Gurkha memorial, based just yards across the road, on the edge of Riversley Park.

“We are proud that we can see the monument, it is special to us and now we can see it all the time,” he said.

As well as help raise the profile of the pub, Mr Gurung is also continuing a proud tradition - Nuneaton and Bedworth’s civic appeal.

He is hosting a charity meal at his Crossed Khukris Gurkha Restaurant in Abbey Street on Sunday, May 13 from 12.30pm.

“This is my 20th year of supporting the Mayor’s appeal, it is something that I like doing,” he said.

“I would like to invite anyone to come along, I know the Mayor this year is raising money for Lymphoedema Care, which is a very worthy cause.”

Tickets are priced at £16 per person for the meal, which will be held at 12.30pm. To book tickets call 024 7634 4488.