Willesborough licensee receives prestigious award to mark 25 years behind the bar

Willesborough licensee, Howard Lapish of The Hooden Smokehouse & Cellar, has been honoured with a prestigious long service award by Star Pubs & Bars in recognition of the contribution he has made to the community during his 25 years at the helm.

2024 is momentous for Howard on another level as well.  He has decided that it will be his last year at the pub and is now looking for someone to take on the pub’s lease, which currently has 14 years still to run.

Prior to running The Hooden Smokehouse & Cellar, Howard had been a regular at the pub. A chance conversation with a publican of another local pub, who thought his management experience and great people skills made him ideally suited to be a landlord, put in train a series of events that led to Howard taking on the historic pub.   

Howard says: “I hadn’t thought of a career in hospitality before but have loved it.  It was the pub and customers that won me over.  It’s a proper lovely olde worlde pub with beams and lots of character.  It’s always had a great atmosphere.  The clientele were and are lovely and there has never been any trouble.  It proved to be a great move and led to me meeting my wife who worked at the pub.  I’m a proper old-fashioned landlord, who stands at the bar talking to customers.  I’ve had some fantastic conversations with many interesting people over the years.  However, I’m ready to call time for the last time.  My wife and I also run the Wye Coffee Shop & Kitchen in Wye and at this stage in our lives want to focus on one business only.”

When Howard took on the pub it was known for Mexican food.  Following a fire at the end of 2016 which saw the pub close for 18 months, Howard introduced smoked food and rebranded the pub The Hooden Smokehouse Bar & Grill. He also invested extensively in the pub’s huge garden doing much of the work himself including making the garden benches, resulting in it winning a national pub garden award.  The garden, which has capacity for 300 people, has different zones for different experiences.  There’s an area for watching live sports, two kids play zones, a quiet drinking section and an outside bar and kitchen with pizza oven and bbq – the perfect place for the beer festivals and family fun days.  The garden also hosts cinema nights, a Sunday holiday kids club and weddings.

During his tenure, Howard has given jobs to around 200 locals with many young people having their first work experience at the pub. One youngster started out as a pot washer, progressed to chef and left to work for Gordon Ramsay at The Maze in Mayfair. 

Howard adds: “When the time comes, we will have a farewell party for regulars to say thank you for all their support over the years and to raise a toast to the new landlord or landlady, whoever that is.  I hope that they will enjoy running The Hooden Smokehouse & Grill as much as I have.  In the meantime, there’s plenty of time for more interesting conversations over the bar!”