The award-winning family-run Wolverhampton pub that is a hit with the community
As pubs continue to battle the cost of living crisis, the Express & Star continues its Love Your Local series which celebrates our local inns.
The Royal Oak in Chapel Ash, Wolverhampton, has been described as a community pub with a friendly atmosphere, where all are welcome to enjoy good beer, a good atmosphere, and an all-round great experience.
That is exactly what licensees Emma and Terry Cole have aimed to provide since taking over seven years ago.
The couple took over from Emma's parents, Sue and Keith Fullwood, who had been at the establishment for 10 years by then.
The pub has been inundated with awards and nominations, which is a testament to the hard work that has gone into making the Royal Oak a fantastic pub that is deserving of the recognition it has received.
Some of the awards that the pub has won include Marston's pub of the year in 2019 and Marston's Community Spirit pub of the year in 2022.
The couple were named among the top 15 licensees in the country in 2020, and Emma held the award for best mild for CAMRA in Wolverhampton and Staffordshire.
Terry says so much hard work has gone into getting the pub to where it is today, and that work continues. "If you want to run a successful pub you cannot just open the doors and sit there, you have to be there working at it, always present.
"We have worked really hard to get here. One of us is always in the pub working, talking with customers, making them feel welcome.
"This has to be done as your customer base is the community, and so you have to keep them on your side and help them out.
"When running a pub you have to care for people and show that you want to do things to help and support otherwise you won't get the business, and we genuinely do care for people and everything that we do."
The couple run numerous campaigns for charity, including a recent 26-mile walk around the football stadiums in the Midlands, Emma running 10k charity races and events in the pub itself.
