OF all the businesses to have suffered over the past two years, few sectors have had it harder than hospitality.

Bank balances of pubs, bars and restaurants are still recovering from lockdown restrictions – and during the toughest months of 2020, there were few venues which were missed more sorely than our favourite locals.

Many free houses didn’t make it through the other side of the pandemic – but those which did are cherished with an extra level of appreciation they perhaps didn’t enjoy before.

Owners at three of Colchester’s finest pubs - Ye Olde Albion, the Victoria Inn, and the Live and let Live - will have reasons to be cheerful heading into the first normal(ish) spring since 2019, after each of them received awards from the Colchester and north east Essex branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA).

After winning both the Overall Pub of the Year as well as the Rural Pub of the Year, Dawn Taylor-Williams, who co-owns Ye Olde Albion in Rowhedge alongside her husband, Simon, said she was pleased take the overall win after finishing runner-up in the Rural Pub of the Year competition several times before.

Gazette: Dawn and Simon Taylor Fletcher will see their pub go through to the county-wide competitionDawn and Simon Taylor Fletcher will see their pub go through to the county-wide competition

She said: “We felt we were in the running for the Rural Pub of the Year competition but to be honest, I can’t think how many years we’ve been runner-up.”

Mrs Taylor-Williams, who bought the pub with her husband in 2003, explained that her husband’s passion for different ales and beers meant customers always had a great variety of choice when they turned up at Ye Olde Albion.

Although customers have returned to pubs and are enjoying a taste of normality again, as well as good beers,Ye Olde Albion is still having to make up a lot of ground after a damaging two years.

“We are definitely still recovering if you look at the bank balance,” Mrs Taylor-Fletcher said.

“We had been sensible over the years but we look at what happened and we think it was close to the wire.”

Read more:

The Live and let Live in Stanway was another pub which managed to take top spot after narrowly missing out before.

Owner Peter Freeman, 65, had previously been a carpenter before taking over the Live and Let Live 14 years ago and took much pride in seeing his pub win the Town Pub of the Year category.

He said: “I would have been happy to be runner-up again but to win it I’m over the moon.

“We like to think of ourselves as a community pub. I think that makes a difference.”

 

Family affair – owner of the Live and Let Live, Peter Freeman, with son, Ben, and grandkids Isla and Evan

Family affair – owner of the Live and Let Live, Peter Freeman, with son, Ben, and grandkids Isla and Evan

 

Mr Freeman added that part of the reason behind Live and Let Live’s survival of the Covid pandemic was their decision to sell takeaway food meaning the balance sheet stayed out of the red.

“We would sell well over 100 takeaway roast dinners on a Sunday, and we then sold takeaway beers when we could.

“Takeaways and government grants [kept us going].”

Winner in the Cider Pub of the Year category was the Victoria Inn.

Owned by Sheena Valentine and Andrew Pilgrim for 11 years, the pub, which is in North Station Road, currently has six different ciders on tap, but normally has nine in the summer.

 

Well drink to that – Victoria Inn owners Sheena Valentine and Andrew Pilgrim

We'll drink to that – Victoria Inn owners Sheena Valentine and Andrew Pilgrim

 

Mrs Valentine said: “We knew we would be there or thereabouts, but we like to think the ambience and the knowledge of our staff was a reason for winning the award.”

She added that although confidence in public health is gradually improving, the hospitality industry is still slightly behind the rest of the country.

“It’s a cautious recovery – all the publicans I speak to say it’s slowly getting there.

“It’s going to get time for everyone to get proper confidence back.”