R&S Pride JAN 222.qxp 24/11/2020 13:47 Page 63
FOOD & DRINK
The Crown
in UPPINGHAM Reopening The Crown in Uppingham in May 2020, Laura Totten was looking forward to her first year running her pub... it’s been an usual first year to say the least, but nothing will prevent her and her team making a success of the place! Words & Images: Rob Davis.
“You just can’t fake a warm welcome.” Many wise words have been spoken, but few as succinctly as those. Laura Totten is in her Uppingham pub, The Crown, on the town’s High Street. In ordinary circumstances it would be buzzing with diners and those enjoying a decent pint. For obvious reasons though, it’s not. Our visit during mid-November sees the hospitality industry once again curtailed pending full reopening, hopefully as Pride goes to press. It is certainly not how Laura imagined her first year in business but given how long she has waited to run her own place she’s not going to let a few bumps and lockdowns get her down. Laura says she fell into the hospitality trade by accident. We say it was destiny. Having attended university in Liverpool to study towards a distinctly un-hospitality related English, French & Psychology degree, Laura found herself working in pubs and bars to fund her study, eventually returned to the area and worked in Leicester’s Barceloneta on the city’s Queens Road. The plan was to work abroad and teach English as a foreign language, but she was offered a management position at the restaurant and the rest is history. After a long and varied career in hospitality management Laura took up a position with
“UPPINGHAM NEEDED A PLACE THAT OFFERED GREAT FOOD, REAL ALE, AND PROVIDED A WARM WELCOME TOO...”
meet the MANAGER CALLUN LOOMES MANAGER, THE CROWN
Everards, finding great future business owners and helping them find a pub business they can call their own. Everards has 187 premises and Laura is full of praise for the way that the company works to support its business owners, she says her partnership with the brewery gives both the freedom to build her own independent business whilst also providing support from the central ‘home team’ if needed. A support that has been invaluable during this time with Everards doing everything within their means to put their pubs and publicans first even while work on their brand-new brewery at Everards Meadows was put on pause. It wasn’t long before Laura was itching to get back into business herself and when the pub she’d coveted – Uppingham’s Crown – became available, she leapt at the chance. Unfortunately, five days before she was due to start her new chapter, hospitality Armageddon ensued, and the first lockdown put everything on pause until she was able to pick up the keys at the end of May. “I knew what Uppingham was missing,” she says, “Because I was looking for it.” >>
The Food: “We’re lucky to have a great team who are all on the same page in respect of the food here. Our chef Dan Carrington has spent 15 years working in London and Spain, he has worked in some really prestigious restaurants and wants to bring quality and relaxed dining together.” The Philosophy: “We don’t think you can go wrong offering a warm welcome and bright, fun, vibrant food that makes you feel good.” Food Heaven: “We love the fact that our dishes are tapas-sized, which makes them versatile enough for grazing, sharing for light lunches and banqueting with friends. That versatility is matched by big flavours and satisfaction!” Food Hell: “Bad children’s menu food. Kids are valued customers too and they have a right to good food!” n
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