Wendy Omollo, general manager of the rose & crown in mayfair, a premium, urban & venture pub

Wendy Omollo was homeless when she applied for a bar job with Greene King back in 2015. Her positivity and resilience saw her move on to the apprenticeship scheme and excel. And the same attitude got her a promotion to General Manager during lockdown.

 

I started working for Greene King when I was 24, homeless, and at rock bottom. They’ve given me a career, a home and so much happiness. They’re like my family. My real family live overseas, so when I was made redundant from my job as a photographer’s assistant in 2015 and couldn’t afford to pay my rent, I had no one to turn to. I slept rough for a few days and then moved to a YMCA hostel.

My career started by accident. I was walking down the road one day and saw a job ad in the window of the Duke of York pub in Surbiton. I had nothing to lose by applying – I’d been applying for jobs non-stop, without success. I spoke to the manager, Alex Wells, and told him I’d never pulled a pint before but had lots of customer service experience from working while at college and was keen to learn. I was willing to give anything a go, and he took me on. Being given a chance by someone is a beautiful thing.

Dream job

I’m a positive, jack-of-all-trades type of chatty person who loves people and telling and hearing stories. The job suited me down to the ground. As soon as I’d learnt the ropes, I wanted to learn more, so I went on the apprenticeship programme. It was mind blowing: the training is so intensive and the investment in you is great… you’re given the tools and opportunities and the rest is up to you. I’ve always been very up front about my ambitions. When a visiting area manager asked me where I saw myself going, I told her I wanted her job. I realised later that I was actually talking to our managing director, but I stand by my statement! I worked as a trainee assistant manager with Alex for a while before moving to other pubs in central London and the City.

I was assistant manager of The Railway Tavern in Liverpool Street when the pandemic started affecting us. For weeks before pubs were told to close London was becoming like a ghost town. The night of the official announcement I felt like I was in a disaster movie. The streets were eerily quiet and the mood very sombre. I closed up that pub with such a strange feeling. There were people I didn’t know if I’d see again.

London love

I lived at The Railway Tavern during lockdown, and although everywhere was so, so quiet, I didn’t let it get me down. I knew I could handle anything and that things would get better, eventually. I did creative things like painting and spent a lot of time walking around a very empty London. In fact, I fell in love with London all over again – with the crowds all gone, I discovered parts I never knew. I also used the time to focus on my future. I was determined to manage my own pub, so continued to apply for general manager roles in lockdown.

Even though it was an uncertain time, I felt very reassured that Greene King was handling things well – there was no gap in the communications – it was seamless. Compared to friends working for other pub companies, I felt very blessed. I just tried to be positive, staying in touch with the wider team via Zoom chats and watching movies together to try to keep everyone’s spirits up. At times it was difficult. I lost my grandmother to Covid-19 in March 2021, and she was in Kenya, so it was hard to process. But we’d come through so much loss, pain and strife, things could only get better, I truly believed that.

I applied for the role of general manager of The Rose & Crown in Mayfair in April 2021 and couldn’t believe it when I heard I’d got it. I was on a rollercoaster of emotions – petrified and excited in equal measure. The pub had been closed for a long time and I had to recruit a new team while numbers of Covid cases were beginning to rise again in early summer, which wasn’t easy. Interviewing online, or face to face, but wearing masks, wasn’t ideal, but I got on with it. Pandemic conditions were not ideal either, with no garden, limited table capacity and no vertical drinking – but finally, my dream future was happening, and I wasn’t going to let Covid-19 hold me back.

Whenever I’m asked about Greene King I’m always afraid that I’m going to come across too gushy. I owe them so much that I literally don’t have a negative word to say. And the pandemic hasn’t changed that; it’s strengthened my love for the company, this industry and London, itself.

We also found out that my partner and I are expecting our first child. Having something positive to look forward to made the dark days a lot brighter.