About Us
Our story began a few years back when the Amos and Smith families met at The George in Upton, South Oxfordshire (formerly The George and Dragon) while their young children were playing in the garden one summer afternoon. A family friendship ensued, with conversations often revolving around the lack of interesting places to eat and drink in the area, and also concern about the amount of pubs closing their doors forever, and the permanent damage this does to once thriving communities.
While taking on a pub in addition to our existing business interests and young families was the last thing on our minds, we wanted to collaborate in some way, so we bought a large horse box and converted it into a mobile bar, which we planned to operate at outdoor events, weddings and parties.
Then, in January 2024, we noticed a sign offering The George and Dragon in Upton for lease. The previous landlord had frightened off the last of the pub’s dwindling trade, and the pub faced permanent closure and potential redevelopment. Absolutely no-one else was interested in taking it on, but we decided to take a closer look. Having dined there once and never returned, we had become amazed at how bad the pub had actually become, and a plan started to gather speed very quickly. Surely anything we could do would be a massive improvement on pints of Fosters and deep-fried-everything, all served with a grimace? Or were we just crazy to even consider it?
The George could not have been in worse condition when we inherited it – unloved and neglected by previous operators, dated and not fit for modern trading. The last major refurbishment had been in the 1980s, and it was literally brown all over. Our vision was clear; to transform it into the best pub and restaurant in the area, somewhere we would want to go to ourselves with our friends and families. However, this would take time and a huge amount of investment given the scale of works required. No-one else was interested in investing in us at the start, but we still took the plunge, starting with renaming it The George at Upton.
While we rolled our sleeves up to start work on the inside, we remembered we had our horsebox bar all ready to go, so we positioned it in the garden, and started our investment by upgrading the garden into the beautiful space it is today. This enabled us to trade while we worked on the inside, and we opened the garden in June. This was followed by George’s Grill, our outside kitchen serving pizzas, burgers and other casual dining dishes. We also wanted to explore other revenue streams, so we decided we would offer breakfast and brunch, plus offer a shop selling daily essentials, all on top of our regular pub and restaurant operations, which would hopefully add security in an uncertain hospitality climate.
We added three stretch tents to make it weatherproof, and also enable us to book in larger events such as weddings and parties, catering up to 200 people in the garden, or 100 inside the pub. We love a party more than most, so events are becoming a very popular part of the business now, and ones we think we really go the extra mile on.
Our restaurant converted a large covered area of the pub hastily built during Covid into a stunning 65 cover restaurant space, and the £300,000 transformation was eventually completed in December 2024, although we’re constantly making tweaks to keep our offer both fresh and compelling.
Our vision is simple, to provide delicious restaurant-standard food, cooked with pride and passion, and using local products wherever possible. Add to this the most comprehensive list drinks list in the area, a great wine selection, and an inclusive environment in a beautiful background for everyone to enjoy, whether an a la carte dinner in our restaurant, or just a casual pizza and a pint in our garden. As responsible employers of over thirty people, we also believe in nurturing our team and supporting them to be the best they can. In a country where choosing hospitality as a career does not command the same levels of respect as it would in countries such as France and the USA, we are determined that the dedicated professionals that work for us are recognised for the passion and creativity they put into their work.
In January 2025 we purchased the freehold of the nearby Rose and Crown in Chilton, renaming it The Crown at Chilton, and re-opening it two months later, and it is now a thriving village local. We are currently building a new kitchen and village store in an unused part of the building, which will open in late 2025.
Our purpose is to rescue tired, run down and potentially unviable pub businesses and transform them into modern, bustling spaces, with the perfect blend of traditional and contemporary. Somewhere special, where our communities want to gather, socialise and enjoy, and show off their pub to visiting friends. Somewhere also good enough to attract customers from a wide radius, and where we could take advantage of our location, being five minutes from the A34. It’s also really important to us that going to the pub is as affordable for as many people as possible, which is why we offer accessible pricing on some of our drinks and dishes, as well all off-peak promotions allowing families to dine out at a low cost.
Our mantra is ’there are no problems, only solutions’. If someone says ‘it can’t be done’, our ears always prick up and we try and make it happen. Sometimes we get it wrong, but most of the time we don’t, and we are very proud to own two very successful, yet very different pubs. Because no village is complete without one, local estate agents are constantly tell us house prices have shot up since we re-opened our pubs, which is our gift to local residents in return for the support they are giving us. And we’re also proud to use all-local tradespeople on our projects.
Over time, we would like to build a small group of pubs, all based on the same ethic, a next level pub experience that constantly evolves, never gets boring, and most of all brings people together. So if you are looking for a new operator to transform your pub, whether freehold or leasehold, or just know a pub that you think would benefit from our input, please feel free to get in touch. We are especially interested in last-pub-in-the-village projects and rural sites, but no potential opportunity is off limits.
Hospitality can be a brutal industry, especially with all the challenges facing pubs and restaurants at the moment, but we believe our ‘can do, will do’ attitude will ensure our continued success.
For a pub, we’re probably punching above our weight, but that’s just how we like it.