Jason and Chris Black, from the Pityme Inn, near Wadebridge, Cornwall, have won the BII Licensee of the Year competition.
Jason and Chris Black at the award ceremony
Chris and Jason had been strong competitors from the start, which saw them score highly across all areas, including mystery customer visits and web and social media audits. They also had an on-site judging visit from Sue Allen and Paul Pavli.
Their performance on the final judging day sealed the deal for these fantastic operators.
As winners of the competition, they will receive a year’s free Pubs and Clubs subscription to Sky Sports, £500 towards a party in their pub to celebrate with their staff, and a model of their pub created by artist Bunty May Marshall to commemorate their win.
Kevin Georgel, chief executive of St Austell Brewery, said: “We’re absolutely delighted that our fantastic licensees, Chris and Jason, have won such a prestigious award.
“The BII’s Licensee Of The Year award celebrates the best of the best of British innkeeping, and Chris and Jason certainly maintain and exceed those standards. It’s a very special thing to have been victorious in a national competition like this, and we are all so proud that their invaluable contribution to the community has been recognised.”
Steve Alton, chief executive of the BII, said: “I’d like to offer a massive congratulations to Chris and Jason on behalf of myself and the whole team here at the BII, including our fantastic judges. This is the most rigorous and intense competition in our industry, but it was clear to the judges that they had the dedication and passion deserving of a Licensee of the Year winner.
“I’d also like to congratulate our other finalists, as getting to the finals of this competition is an incredible achievement in itself.”
