Pub Awards: Best Community Winner - The Firbank Pub & Kitchen, Manchester

Simon Delaney lives and breathes Wythenshawe. As the owner of the Firbank, along with his wife Rachel, in the Manchester suburb for the past 21 years, he’s passionate about his home turf and keen to dispel myths surrounding an area once branded “the biggest council estate in Europe”.

As such, the local council have appointed him an ambassador for the area, which he says is far from deprived and changing all the time. The Firbank sits at the heart of that area and despite Simon’s length of tenure in the business, his energy and passion continue to drive his business ever forward as a thriving hub of the community.

Marginalised

A recent refurbishment of the site, along with the introduction of food to the mix has helped strengthen and broaden the pubs appeal and allowed Simon to reach out to some of the more marginalised in the community in old people’s homes, offering his facilities as a place to gather, offering free food and drinks at regular meetings.

Events like that have allowed Simon and his team to create a pub that appeals to all within the community, young and old, with charity events and themed nights a speciality, from bungee jumping in the car park to Halloween spectaculars with the help of professional actors and film crews.