MARSTONS PUB OF THE YEAR 2019

NEWS

MARSTONS PUB OF THE YEAR 2019

The Royal Oak Takes Home Win at Marston’s Annual Pub of the Year Awards

The Royal Oak in Wolverhampton has been named ‘Best Entertainment & Events’ pub and overall winner at Marston’s 2019 Pub of the Year Awards. The awards celebrate the work of Marston’s pubs under tenanted & leased business agreements, whilst recognising those who have gone above and beyond within each of six winning categories. 

The judging process for the awards took place over two rounds, starting with each pub being visited by different departments from Marston’s Head Office. Following this, an internal panel of experts within each category judged the shortlisted pubs for their entertainment events and offers from the past 12 months. The winner was then decided, and it was the Royal Oak who stood out for their ability to always have ‘something going on’, running four nights of entertainment a week with also bike festivals and craft markets to bring together the local community.  

But it wasn’t just the ‘Best Entertainment & Events’ category the Royal Oak won; they were also crowned the overall ‘Pub of The Year’ winner. After a final visit from senior pub directors from Marston’s, who visited all the category winners, it was the Royal Oak’s drive and passion to make everyone feel at home and treated as family that stood out, showing to be a modern evolution of a community pub with strong entertainment offerings.

The Royal Oak is a family business with owners, Keith and Susan Fullwood sharing the responsibility to run the pub with daughter Emma Cole and her husband Terry Cole. On behalf of all the family, Terry Cole said: “We are a family run business and have been for 13 years. To win one category then win overall is incredible. Our team puts so much effort into making sure our customers have a great time here, so to receive an award for our efforts is fantastic and we want to thank all our locals for their support.”

Jenny Nalborczyk, part of the Pub of the Year Awards team at Marston’s said: “Our annual Pub of the Year Awards allows us to really celebrate the work and effort put in by the Licensees and their team over the year. It is important to us that we recognise the achievements of all our pubs, and we are tremendously proud of all the winners.”

ITS NOT ONLY US WHO THINK WE ARE GOOD

My first ever visit to The Royal Oak, Chapel Ash was an eye opener.

It was about ten years ago and after ordering my pint it

was immediately taken away from me by the then landlords

husband, you're not drinking that he said, as it was a bit cloudy and

from the bottom of the barrel, I'll get you a fresh one.  I didn't even

have to ask; it was changed there and then.I thought

straight away, this looks like its going to be a nice pub. I wasn't wrong, have

been going ever since.

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It's a nice typical old-style friendly pub, great selection of cask ales, lagers and other

beers, cheese and onion cobs (a must) and lots of interesting characters as yo would expect,

if you need a tradesman you only need to ask.

The staff have always been brilliant, friendly, knowledgeable and very efficient at their jobs, even on extremely busy nights.

They have different live music nights through the week, with music to suit most tastes,

quizzes, sport on the TV if you want to watch the match, great charity events

at weekends, again with live music, outside if weather allows and food too.

I can without doubt say it probably the best pub I know, very friendly and welcoming atmosphere.

Steve Norton

The Royal Oak can only be described as the best pub in town.

The consistent quality of beer, events and the old school community atmosphere

can easily be attributed to it being run by the same family for a long period

of time. Personally, I walk past two alleged ' locals' to walk the extra mile

on a regular basis for that very reason. It is everything you want from a

proper pub in an era when they are few and far between. The bike shows have

become legendary, the bands are always good, and the Sunbeam is excellent. This

pub does what it says on the tin and you would be hard pushed to find anywhere better.

Simon George

when I visit the Royal Oak,  I cannot fault the service and I love the live acts that I have seen

too... The Lemuns and Esther Turner being the ones I can remember!

I also got some work colleagues together for the quiz night

there. We came second and it was thoroughly enjoyed by all. We’re currently

waiting for the next time we can put a team together to try and win next time!

Overall, 5 stars... no bad words other than the headaches the

day after!

Ellen Potts

Just like to say as a regular user of

the Oak this pub is an excellent watering hole. Not just an everyday pub, it is

a proper community pub, with a good strong clientele base of locals, it has

everything you want from a public house. Live music several times a week, pub

quizzes family day events, charity events and of course excellent beer choices,

whether you drink traditional ales, local beers, ciders, wines or you prefer a

nice cool G&T or a soft drink, they have it all. A great family pub with a

wide and diverse appeal to all that use it. Also dog friendly. Just considered

to be one of the best in town.

Taff

The Royal Oak has always been a

favorite venue of ours to play, the reasons behind this are that primarily,

the pub has always been known for providing a variety of quality live music

acts weekly and therefore draws in a crowd that are looking to be entertained.

Terry and his staff clearly enjoy having bands and solo artists visit and are

doing their utmost to ensure that the 'Oak' continues to provide live music

entertainment for the foreseeable future.Secondly, we and other bands that we

speak to, are always made to feel appreciated and welcome. We never have to

compete with the jukebox or provide a backing track to the 'The match' or 'the

big fight' playing on the big screen tv's, as we have in other pubs in the

city. A worthy contender for the accolade of Pub of the Year, in our eyes. –

Ian, Mark & Dave a.k.a. The

Lemuns

I am a solo acoustic performer and have played at The Royal

Oak many times. It is by far one of my favorite venues to play. The audience

and locals are always so welcoming and respectful and I always have a great

time. The staff are amazing. They help me load in and out with my equipment and

make sure that I have everything that I need. They really do look after me and

it is a pleasure to perform each time. The Royal Oak has such a brilliant

atmosphere and I hope to continue performing there for many years to come.

Brilliant venue, brilliant staff and brilliant audiences.

Nikki Rous

The royal oak Wolverhampton is

without a doubt my favourite pub to sing and perform at.

Super friendly and they are a big

supporter of local live music. Every time i come here i know its going to be a

good night! .

Esther Turner

We love playing at the Oak!! It’s become a firm favourite, a brilliant, local,

corner street pub with a great reputation for real ale and real music. Terry

and Emma always offer us a warm welcome and keep us suitably refreshed during our shows!

The pub has established a fantastic program of live music - it’s always an

honor to appear on the billing at OakFest!!

Divine Brothers