Four Suffolk venues are finalists for The Great British Pub Awards - and you can now vote for them to win the £10,000 prize.
The Packhorse in Moulton, The New Wellington in Newmarket, The Chestnut Horse in Great Finborough and The Grundisburgh Dog are all up for awards, as the competition changes to support pubs that have been community champions during the coronavirus pandemic.
Moulton’s Packhorse leads the way among Suffolk pubs, with three nominations. It is up for the Charity Champion, Feeding the Community and Frontline Support.
Run by the Chestnut Group, the pub encouraged donations and then cooked and delivered freshly prepared meals for more than 35 organisations including First Choice Home Care, East Anglian Ambulance Service, West Suffolk community nurses and families across Newmarket.
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Philip Turner, founder of the Chestnut Group, said: “We are really proud of the part we played and the selfless contribution of our teams to give thanks to those on the frontlines.
“The feedback from the NHS staff, care workers and communities have been heart-warming. We are delighted to be nominated for three Great British Pub Awards, but we would like to extend this recognition to all the local businesses, suppliers, and everyone who helped to make the idea a reality. Thank you.”
Two Suffolk pubs are up for the Business Continuity award.
They are The Grundisburgh Dog and The Chestnut Horse in Great Finborough.
The Chestnut Horse won a BBC Radio Suffolk award for running a takeaway service alongside a community shop.
Landlady Sharon Shipp said: “I would receive telephone orders from families who were unable to see their loved ones and delivery food to them, one daughter that lives in Cornwall was so worried about her mum being depressed that on several occasions I would surprise her with afternoon teas, cream teas, a fresh fruit and veg box and nearly every Sunday she was delivered a roast dinner.
“I’m just so proud to have got this far. I keep thanking the community for their support and they keep thanking me.”
Meanwhile, The Grundisburgh Dog sold vegetable boxes and homemade takeaway food.
The vegetable boxes were so successful that it grew into a successful delicatessen, which was opened by Dr Dan Poulter MP.
The pub said it had been humbled by the support from the community.
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The New Wellington in Newmarket was nominated as a Greene King Pub Hero after it served hundreds of takeaway roast dinners – many to elderly or vulnerable people – and ran dance sessions every morning.
Nigel Sampson, who runs the pub along with his daughter Georgina, said: “We’re pleased as punch.
“We didn’t do it for the recognition, we did it for the community.”
A post on their Facebook page says: “The categories this year have changed due to the pandemic and we’ve made it through to the finalists list by all the hard work we did over the lockdown doing takeaways and deliveries as well as our community spirit doing the morning dances.
“We now have the opportunity to win £10,000 which would make a huge, huge difference to us right now.”
You can vote for your favourite here.
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