How Nottinghamshire's pub of the year is helping preserve Southwell's history and keep traditions alive and kicking
Anyone who runs their own business will tell you it’s far from easy.
Offering value, maintaining reputations within the community and, most importantly, attracting customers is a tough balancing act to juggle.
It’s perhaps an even more difficult skill to master in the pub trade with boozers around the land now routinely closing their doors for the final time.
But one Southwell theme pub is happily bucking that trend with their unique mix of community spirit and love for the town’s railway heritage proving to be a big hit.
The Final Whistle has been pulling pints under its current name down on Station Road since the mid 2010’s.
But thirsty travellers have been supping at the property for far longer than that with the 160 year old building originally operating as the Newcastle Arms and serving as the station inn for the nearby Southwell railway station.
It’s a blast to the past that owner Jo Hultum, who has been running the Everards pub with partner Oliver Brown for 12 years, is very proud to maintain.
“When they were thinking of how to design the pub, they looked into the history of Southwell and, because the line used to go where the nature trail is now and with the old station house over the road, it just seemed really fitting to base it on railways,” he said.
“We wanted to bring some of the history back. We have even had tracks lifted into the courtyard so you feel like you’re sitting in a different time when you are sat there.
“A good pub, especially in this climate, is about good quality, good customer service, cleanliness and nice staff. It is so different when you are sat here. There are not many beer gardens like it and I think that’s what makes it so popular.
“All ages and walks of life come in here for different things and it is a good atmosphere. We believe in old school vibes, so a good play list, no juke-boxes or games and things like that. We stick to traditions.”
Those traditions have served the pub very well with The Final Whistle recently crowned CAMRA's Nottinghamshire Pub of the Year for the second time in a row.
“There’s so many good pubs in Notts,” added a delighted Jo. “We were thrilled that we won it last year and to win it again just really cements it, not just for us as a pub company but for the staff as well. They work so hard and they love the pub as much as we do and keep the atmosphere what it is.
“We are here to give people an experience as well as a really good pub. We have got a regular clientele who will come in and talk to staff after work. It is that community feeling, it is quite nice.
“There is lots of banter and it has a nice feel good vibe. We never take the awards we get for granted, we just keep working hard and striving to do what we do.
“We love this pub so we should keep it going for everyone else to love and that’s our ethos.”
Pubs were judged on the quality of beer and cider, service, welcome, décor, cleanliness, and value for money with The Final Whistle now progressing to represent the East Midlands in the next round.
But despite the challenges Jo believes pubs still hold an important place in communities everywhere.
“There are challenges in the pub industry and it’s not easy, but we love what we are doing,” she said.
“We will just keep doing it. The pub trade has always had its battles but if you are passionate about what you do, and you do it well, and you encourage other people to be passionate in the hospitality trade, then you will always thrive.
“Any pub is the heart of any community and it should be like that.”
The popular watering hole boasts ten regularly-changing real ales, six craft beers and six ciders.
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