Pub of the year... again
OLIVE BRANCH WINS TOP ACCOLADE FROM GOOD PUB GUIDE
A MULTI-award-winning Rutland country pub has won yet another national title.
The Olive Branch in Clipsham has been named as overall UK Pub of the Year by the Good Pub Guide 2021.
A Good Pub Guide spokesman said: “In this most difficult of years, we are delighted to award Pub of the Year 2021 to The Olive Branch in Clipsham, Rutland.
“To compete in the Pub of the Year category a pub has to have unanimous enthusiasm from all readers on all aspects of its business – it has to be top of its game and The Olive Branch is most definitely that.
“It’s a really special place for a drink, a meal or an overnight stay. It’s a perennially successful inn which attracts a deservedly loyal following from both near and far, and will celebrate its 21st anniversary on December 12.”
The Olive Branch is a small village pub in England’s smallest county.
Three friends bought it in 1999 and, with the help of family and villagers, rescued what was then a closed pub from an uncertain fate.
Since then, The Olive Branch has achieved many accolades, including the same Pub of the Year title in 2014.
Ben Jones, co-founder and MD, said: “What brilliant news to receive on our 21st anniversary at the end of this incredibly challenging year. We first opened on December 12, 1999, with a village Christmas party.
“Sadly, this year, due to the government’s illogical, pub-killing restrictions, we will not be able to celebrate safely with locals and villagers. A pub is about the whole experience – the beer, the wine, the food and, above all, the atmosphere.
“Right now, due to Covid-19 and these restrictions, we aren’t really a pub. We aren’t able to welcome all; we aren’t able to enjoy a drink and some local gossip at the bar. However, this award means so much to us because it rewards the whole team at the end of an unbelievably tough year. Every single one of them has played their part in this success.”
Ben said: “It’s not been easy and each member of the team has had to work longer and harder to cover the extra space, to make customers feel safe and to complete all the appropriate cleaning.
“We’ve been lucky. We are in a rural location near open fields. We have space to socially distance, we have an amazing team and wonderfully loyal and supportive customers.
“We were nearly full throughout the summer, yet 2020 has still been a battle for survival for us and December will be our worst in 21 years.
“Many others less fortunate than us will not make it. More help is needed.
“The £1,000 for wet-led pubs is pitiful and the government must find more support for our industry. Without it, the Good Pub Guide may well be half its size next year and the true local will be extinct.”
The Olive Branch became one of the first pubs in the UK to win a Michelin Star (which it held from 2002 until 2013).