David Woodhead has worked in hospitality and pubs his entire career and has no plans to stop any time soon. He's been at the Woodman Inn in Thunderbridge for the last 12 years and in March he celebrates his 80th birthday. We visited him to learn more about his 60+ years in the industry.
So, you’ve always been within the food and beverage industry?
Yes, always. Before the pub trade, I was a grocer. A coffee roaster, tea blender and cheese specialist. Always working with the public. At school, I was really good at drama, and now I see this as my stage – the bar is my stage! Beth and I got into the nightclub world in Huddersfield, and then that led us to opening our nightclub. It was that that got us onto the pub tenancy ladder, and we got our first ever pub. Then we moved about a quarter of a mile around the corner to a huge old public house that had been closed for a year or more. They made the decision to do it up, and we got it, and it was amazing, it was just fantastic. We were there for nine years and in that time made enough money to buy first pub back, and we went back in the free trade. Ten years later, I retired for the first time at 58.
How different did you find it having a pub in the free trade after being in the tenancy world?
We worked really hard, and then we retired from that and after about a year of being retired, we wanted to be doing something again. So, we sailed off for 12 years on a canal boat. When my wife’s arthritis became really bad, so we could not carry on boating. At the time, the family who sold used own the Woodman, who I’d known for a number of years around our pubs bought this place and came knocking on my retirement door and said, “David can you look after the beer.”
I didn’t have to think about it, I’ve been at the Woodman Inn over 12 years now. I came and joined the family really to just look after the beer, but as my wife said, I wouldn’t stop at that – and I didn’t. I became Senior Board Member on Lesley Country Inns before we sold it to Robinsons.
So, it sounds like you were involved in the pub ownership transfer?
Yes of course, but then when we sold it to Robinsons, I thought was out of a job. So, I had literally sold my job from under my feet. But, we talked to Dave [Director of Managed Operations] and Ellis [Retail Operations Manager] and the directors, Olive and William, who I had met before. They said “we don’t actually know what it is that David does, but if he will stay and carry on doing that, that is just fine.” Robinsons are great and full of enthusiasm. I have worked longer in the Woodman than I did in any of my other pubs.
The Robinsons family have been astonishingly good. I wasn’t the director anymore and nobody really knew me, I just became the cellar man, but I still do all of the other bits.
And what was that transition from director like?
It was amazing. I was trying to persuade everyone that I wasn’t a director anyway, I was one of the team! In the end they completely changed and they saw I was working with them, not being the boss.
I was old enough to be everyone’s grandfather. So, the transition to Robinsons was a transition for me too. I could not believe how good Robinsons were, honestly. You’re suspicious when there is a takeover, but they held a meeting with absolutely everybody involved. From the pot wash to bin man to me, everyone. Oliver and William and John were there too. They just stood up and said here we are, fire away, whatever you want to know. They put a wage increase in before they even opened, everyone was like wow this is amazing! It was the opposite of what we were used to. We could not believe how well we were treated and on it went. My relationship with Ellis and Dave is great too.
What has life been like in hospitality for so long?
My wife was amazing and was in the industry with me all the way through. Over the years I became a hot air balloon pilot, I had a car racing team, she let me play out (ha!). It has been a crazy life really. We even wrote a book together when we took to the water ways, it was “Beth’s chip shops and David’s pubs”. We never published it though.
The trade has always been very kind to me. I am lucky now at my age to have a job. Where else would I get a job at 80? Nowhere. Thank you, Robinsons.
So Director? Cellar man? David of the Woodman Inn…what is your role?
You can add cashier to the list. I look after our cash flow, I do the cashing up and tills. I come in seven days a week and have been ever since I started. I did four years of seven days a week and have never missed a day. Normally I’m in for breakfast time. I come in, do the safe, and sort out the cash. Then, go onto the cellar, where I look after all the backstage stuff, and in winter sort the logs for the fire (which is a flipping big job!)
I just want to see Jordan [General Manager] do really well, too. This pub here is performing exceptionally well, it is the weddings that do great! When Jordan joined around six years ago, he naturally took over the wedding planning and single handedly built the wedding business here. He has worked so hard. He goes into housekeeping regularly. He is brilliant, and Hannah his assistant is also extremely good – they are like an old married couple (ha), more than me and my wife are after over 40 years!
The way this pub is managed and the way we work together under the umbrella of Robinsons is great. The support is great.
[Let’s go to the cellar, a lot to do!]
