Toby and Lisa Cocking started working together at The Earl of Normanton pub in Idmiston in 2019 and soon started dating.
Then Covid struck, and they found themselves locked down together with former pub managers Polly Maddigan and Phil Penny in March 2020.
The next five years were filled with big life events.
They are now married, have a toddler and are proud to have owned the lease of the “quintessential country pub” since Polly and Phil retired to travel in their camper van.
Toby and Lisa took on the pub’s lease in December, but Polly and Phil still own the building (Image: Newsquest) Lisa, 43, said: “After we reopened from lockdown, slowly but surely, we ended up managing the place.
“Since then, we’ve had a little boy, who’s now three, and got married. Finally signing the lease was exciting. It did feel different.”
The pub has a loyal base of customers from the surrounding villages and benefits from being on the side of the A338, bringing passing trade.
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“The locals are really sweet,” said Lisa.
“They’ve known us since before we got together. They’re watching our little boy grow up here, and it’s super cute.
“We get a lot of people come in who say they have been driving past the pub for years but never popped in, and they always really enjoy it.”
Inside The Earl of Normanton (Image: Newsquest) Toby, 42, is looking to hire a full-time member of staff to work alongside him in the kitchen to keep up with rising demand for their home-made meals.
“Everything is made from raw ingredients. There’s nothing bought in – it’s these hands that make it,” he said.
“We both know no different; we’ve done this since we were kids. We’re no strangers to the game.”
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They plan to build upon the strong foundations Polly and Phil built and have again seen the pub featured in the Campaign For Real Ale’s Good Beer Guide.
Lisa said: “We’re always going to focus on homecooked food, good beers and, when the weather starts getting nicer, we can start having music events and doing outdoor stuff.
“We’re going to do some work on the outside area for the summer – just a few improvements around the place.”
The pub has impressive views over the River Bourne (Image: Newsquest) “Everyone’s used to having nice big portions of freshly cooked home food, and our fire’s a big selling point,” she added.
“In the winter it’s a cosy country pub, and when you come in the summer, and you sit there and watch the horses with our view. It’s so beautiful.
“We’re grateful to Polly and Phil for giving us the opportunity to take over from them and carry on growing the business.
“When they took it over, it wasn’t anything like this.
“They worked really hard to get it the way it was, and spent loads of money and put a lot of effort into it.
“They left us with a really lovely pub and let us bring up our little boy here.”