New Owners at Kings Head House Ring Changes Quietly

Jo Murray has been owner of the Kings Head House now for 3 months and things are changing for the better, slowly but surely.

Out have gone the battleship grey walls inside and the severe seating in the lounge bar, in have come more relaxed chairs and a softer colour scheme.  

You will also have noticed the external improvements -  the new paint, and the culling of the scrubby vegetation at the front in favour of a grassy site for the picnic benches.  And guess what, moving the benches allows cars to park in front of the hotel!

 Simple things which improve the welcome, or “greeting” as Jo prefers to call it.

The Greeting is further improved by changes to the entrance “The old double entrance was a cold and draughty place, now people come straight into the bar and have a much better experience from the start” says Jo, “people know where we are and we can guide them straight on to their table, room or help them to a menu”.  And Jo is indeed very welcoming and often there to greet people in person.

Jo and her partner Ceiran already have six pubs, restaurants some rooms, in Ealing and the Home Counties but this is their most extensive venture and their first Free House. “It was always my dream to have a B&B one day, just to be self-sufficient – I’m a whizz with eggs - but now I have a hotel with a lounge bar and private dining areas, definitely not just a B&B!”

Although few in the parish will have seen them, the bedrooms were very well restored by previous owner Dorian and there has been “absolutely no need to change them”. The rear garden,  too, is adequate for now -  given a choice between a new garden and new downstairs curtains, Jo has opted for the warmth of the curtains to complete the “cosying up” of the public rooms.

Settling in new staff, to deliver a standard of experience to clients with which she can be satisfied, has required Jo to live over the shop full time. “The core posts, like Chef, are in place but recruitment is on-going. I have been able to introduce own-baked cakes for coffee time and an innovative Saturday and Sunday Brunch menu. Everything is made from fresh ingredients, sourced locally where possible, and often from clients’ recommendations”.

Village people will find the Kings Head House more welcoming of family parties than has been the case in recent years, with more flexible use of the function room too. The Xmas menu will be available by the time you read this, to be served from early November on.

Jo and Ceiran will continue to try out improvements but are already enjoying a good rapport with a wide range of local people – as recent posts to Facebook attest – especially those who say they live “just over the road”.

*********

From having no notable public houses of any sort just a few years ago, we are now so lucky to have two thoroughly excellent and complementary places to go to - for a quiet drink or meal, or a livelier social experience as the mood takes us. Ed.