Kenilworth Nub News aims to be supportive to every element of the community, from businesses, shops, and people, to charities, clubs and sports organisations.

We will be profiling some of these local businesses, and groups regularly over the coming weeks in a feature called 'Up Close With'.

The latest in this series is with Andy Lock, General Manager of the Virgins and Castle.

One year ago today, March 13, the Virgins and Castle reopened under the management of bespoke catering company Caviar and Chips.

Needless to say the first 12 months of their management has been nowhere near what they expected, having only been open for 131 days, missing out on vital Christmas and Valentine's Day trade.

Despite the difficulties of their first year, the new Virgins and Castle team has seen many positives since taking over. We caught up with general manager Andy Lock to find out more.

Early Beginnings

Caviar and Chips first saw the vacancy for the Virgins and Castle in October 2019. Business partners Marc Hornby and Jonathan Carter-Morris discussed the possibility of running their own pub at length, and then pitched their vision for the pub to Everards Brewery that December.

Needless to say the pitch went well, and they were given the keys to the property on March 9 2020.

Having secured the lease for the pub, Caviar and Chips then needed to find a new general manager. In stepped Andy.

Andy had been a chef with Caviar and Chips since 2018, and a chef in general for over 15 years, but had always harboured an ambition to run his own pub.

"I'm not sure they had me in mind when they took this on," he says.

"I'd always wanted my own pub, and always wanted to run it from the front, but I never thought it would happen.

"But when I found out about the V&C I just put myself forward."

Having successfully interviewed for the position, Andy came out as the clear choice to take on the role at Kenilworth pub and hasn't looked back since.

"It has been great actually, it is something that I have always wanted to do. Those first few days we opened went so quick, it was like a whirlwind!

"But it has been an amazing year, the support I have had from Jonathan, Marc, and the whole team have been fantastic. The people that come in the pub have just made it really easy to host, they're all really nice people who want the pub to do well, and have been really supportive."

Change of plans

Having hosted a very (very) well attended opening night on March 13 2020, Andy and the rest of the team at the V&C were given the news that pubs and hospitality venues were having to close indefinitely as a result of the first national lockdown.

They were only open for seven days before they had to close.

Not deterred by this immediate setback, Andy and the team decided that this was the perfect opportunity to focus on other aspects of the pub they had always envisaged.

"When we met together and said 'what is our pub going to be' we always said that we wanted to be a community pub.

"The pub has been around for hundreds of years before us, it's a pillar of the community and we wanted to be a part of that."

So Andy and his team volunteered to help with the Covid-19 Kenilworth Support Group charity, cooking regular hot meals for the most vulnerable members of the local community.

The team also realised that they could help with the fantastic work of footballer Marcus Rashford, and committed to providing free meals for children during the October half term.

Andy has also hosted a number of online quizzes to help keep Kenilworth residents entertained throughout lockdown.

Whilst the need for the community to come together in lockdown was clear, Andy said that even if they had been open throughout 2020, the team would still have reached out from the pub.

"We would have always done something, but we would have found different ways of doing it had the world been more normal.

"It would have been more with community projects and clubs in Kenilworth, but having a pub has given us a really great platform for providing support wherever it has been needed."

Looking after your own

As well as looking outwardly to support the Kenilworth community, the Virgins and Castle has also received deserved recognition for the team ethics that have driven them over the past year.

They were nominated for the 'Staff Welfare' prize at the Great British Pub Awards in acknowledgment of the effort Andy and his team had put in to look after one another.

Weekly Zoom calls, virtual meals together, an online pub quiz, and online classes have all featured in keeping the team connected, engaged and supported throughout the last twelve months.

"It is part of the DNA of Caviar and Chips, we are about people. I know it is very easy to say that, but people do make a pub. We want to look after each other. In normal times we see each other more and we want to look after each other.

"Caviar and Chips wants us to be a great place to work, and let people enjoy their jobs."

Chomping at the bit

Reflecting on his first year in charge Andy said: "Sometimes it feels like it has been a long time, at some points of the year as time has sort of stood still, but sometimes time is just absolutely flying by.

"It has been positive though, a lot of really great stuff has come out of the last 12 months. Obviously it hasn't quite been the opening year that we would have liked, but we have still had a really positive year."

Following the announcement by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in February that hospitality venues were to reopen from mid April, Andy and his team are now getting ready to invite guests through their doors once again.

"We are raring to go again, to open the doors, let people in. Have the smell of the food and the beer again, and to make people smile.

"We are chomping at the bit, ready to go. We'll obviously reopen safely, but we want to see people, speak to people, that is why we are in hospitality, to put a smile on people's faces, even if its behind a face mask!

"A pub shouldn't be empty, and it had been empty far too long."

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