Food and drink
14 , Josef , 11 and six year-old Lola . “ I ’ d never done hospitality in my life but when The Fighting Cocks came up for sale I really wanted to go for it and Donna was right behind me all the way ” he says . “ Despite being a massive investment , it wasn ’ t a hard decision to make , because it was where I wanted to be in my life ”. The move involved selling the family home and moving the children to live above the pub – and Sam admits it was a huge gamble . “ We risked everything but after a year we can already see that it ’ s been very successful ”. He says that he and Donna were lucky to be following the previous owners Phil and Micala Mew , who left a wellsupported business with loyal staff – and this has undoubtedly helped them build on good foundations . Their early success at The Fighting Cocks was what emboldened them to consider taking on The Chequers . “ I ’ d always thought that having two sites would be exciting ” says Sam – which is one way of putting it ! On hearing that Richard and Sue Holmes were planning to retire from The Chequers , he reckoned that this venue – just seven minutes drive away and in direct competition with The Fighting Cocks – could be the answer .
“ It has a similar family-friendly ethos and I felt the two could work well together ”. So he and Donna took the Chequers on a 10-year lease , which he says demonstrates their commitment and
long-haul approach to what is a popular and much-loved country pub . “ The last thing people want on the Isle of Wight is massive change , which is why at The Fighting Cocks , we were so careful to keep an award-winning recipe . “ At The Chequers we are bringing new food ideas onto the menu to get to the quality of The Fighting Cocks , but we will still support the local trade , the hunt , the shoot and the local farming community ”. The country pub ’ s popular carvery and roast remains at weekends , as will the seven days a week buffet breakfast , but
there will be new choices on offer , in the form of a new regular menu . Having become friends with previous owners Richard and Sue , Sam and Donna plan to retain local supply where possible , and have also negotiated an exclusive agreement with beef farmer Ron Holland to serve his famous Kemp Hill beef at both pubs . So what ’ s the biggest challenge in running two pubs at once ? “ I ’ ve got huge issues with delegating , but I am learning quickly to delegate ” says Sam . “ I wish I could be around customers in both pubs at once , but haven ’ t found a way to do that yet !” Juggling two pubs with family life can also be a challenge , although Sam says : “ In some ways I see the kids more than when I was at the garage and I ’ m available to do things like school runs . “ But I ’ d like to think we can live in our own home again in the future , and regain some normality ”. One thing ’ s for sure though – Sam and Donna won ’ t be taking on another pub anytime soon . There are no plans for a chain here , he says : “ We ’ re very keen to have these two and run them to the best of our ability . It ’ s a fantastic position to be in , and we consider ourselves very lucky .”
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