At our monthly speaker meeting on 4th February we welcomed Lisa Marie McNamara, landlady of one of East Grinstead’s most prominent pubs, Dunning’s Mill, and named after Elvis Presley’s daughter as her mother was one of his biggest fans!
She has been running pubs for 35 years but has only been in East Grinstead since 2017. She employs 28 local people, many of who have been with her for most of the time she has been running this pub. Lisa feels that her premises serve a host of reasons but most important is being somewhere that people can feel safe and know that they will be welcomed. Dunnings is a space that not only sells alcohol and food but allows people to come along and socialise and, for her that is an important reason for being in this industry.
Lisa enjoys holding events to bring people together, feeling that in this day and age there is a lot of isolation. Hence she welcomes organised groups to come along for a meal, she arranges activities such as mum dancing, quiz nights and poker evenings and is a venue for weddings. However the pub is also a place where someone can come and sit at the bar for a drink and know that there will be somebody will talk to them.
Lisa has become an important part of the community and has won a community hero of the year award. She hosts local charities, at no cost. The East Grinstead charity Being Neighbourly’s Chatter Café meet there once a month with no charge for coffees, teas or cakes and also enjoy a free Christmas lunch.
Recently she has been involved with helping to set up a youth club for 10-13 year olds, providing funding for the first 6 months. She felt that there was a lack of places where youngsters could go and socialise. To make sure this is what they do they have to give up their mobile phones as they enter the building! Lisa said it was a real pleasure to see youngsters being fully engaged in talking, playing games, crafting etc.It is proving to be so successful that it is already oversubscribed.
What shone through in this talk was Lisa’s enthusiasm and belief that her role is not just running a business but running what people might describe as a social hub, where everyone is welcome!