St Austell Brewery paid tribute to its pub landlords and landladies at the 16th annual Tribute Estate Awards, celebrating what was an exceptional year for the business.
The event took place at the Eden Project, with managers and tenants from among the brewery’s 170 pubs, inns and hotels in Devon, Cornwall and Somerset.
A total of 22 awards were presented, celebrating excellence in categories including food and drink, accommodation, customer service, training and marketing.
The big winners of the day were Jason and Debbie Manton, from The Globe, Topsham, who were awarded pub managers of the year for the second year in a row for their continued outstanding efforts and for exceeding all key targets. They also picked up customer service pub of the year (managed) for always putting the customer first in everything that they do.
The 2015 tenants of the year award went to Pete and Elaine Delaney, from the Lugger Inn, Polruan, who saw sales grow by more than 20% last year, and the new tenants of the year award went to Dan Martland and Lisa Clarke, from the Farmers Arms, St Merryn, which is a pub that has had huge success over the past year thanks to its event-led calendar.
The special director’s award, presented by St Austell Brewery’s managing director, James Staughton, was awarded to Linda Prior, from the Old Custom House, Padstow. Linda took on the management of The Old Custom House in 1989 and has successfully grown the inn into one of the brewery’s most consistent top performers.
Linda was praised for her management and for the time and effort she has put into mentoring and developing future managers over the years.
The Ship Inn, Mousehole, picked up the accommodation house of the year (managed) award, with the Jubilee Inn, Pelynt, taking accommodation house of the year (tenancy). Both saw strong growth in accommodation sales during 2015. The Lifeboat Inn, St Ives, scooped the training award for continuing to be one of the most engaged teams in the estate.
The Samuel Jones, in Exeter, won the innovation award — a new category — for being one of the most successful new openings the brewery has seen. The pub has embraced a range of new technology that has enhanced customer experience and exceeded all expectations.
Adam Luck, St Austell Brewery estate director, said: “2015 was another excellent year for the brewery’s pub estate. We have welcomed a number of new pubs to the family, invested in many of our existing properties and had a record year for food sales.
“The annual estate awards ceremony highlights the great efforts all of our landlords and tenants put in throughout the year and is a great opportunity for everyone to get together and celebrate.”
For more than a decade the brewery has been at the forefront of raising the bar on pub food, so the standards were especially high in this field. Alison Ede, from The Masons Arms, Branscombe, received the food pub of the year (managed) award, with the St Kew Inn picking up the award in the tenancy category.
The Victoria Inn, Salcombe, was wine house of the year for its pure passion for wine and for having won the best partnership pub category at the 2015 Great British Pub awards.
Beer pub of the year (managed) went to the Rashleigh Arms, St Austell, which has introduced a range of craft ales in 2015 and increased its beer sales by over 20%. Beer pub of the year (tenancy) was awarded to the Golden Lion, Port Isaac, which also saw a growth in sales of St Austell beers.
There were two winners for the best turnaround pub of the year (managed) award, with The Old Success Inn, Sennen Cove, and the Old Market House, Brixham, both impressing the brewery judges. The best turnaround pub of the year (tTenancy) went to the Lanivet Inn, while The Molesworth Arms, Wadebridge, picked up pub floral display of the year.
The Central Inn, Newquay, picked up the award for marketing and social media pub of the year (managed), with the same award in the tenancy category going to The Polgooth Inn. Community pub (managed) went to the Holmbush Inn, St Austell, with the North Inn, Pendeen, picking up the award in the tenancy category.
For the high-quality service the pub exudes, customer service pub of the year (tenancy) went to The Cornish Arms, Tavistock, which also made it into the 2016 Publican’s Morning Advertiser Top 50 UK gastropubs.
