Rutland couple's bad luck buying Exeter Arms pub in Barrowden just before coronavirus lockdown

Husband and wife team Mark and Katie Symes certainly know a thing or two about bad luck and timing.

The couple had just bought their dream pub - the Exeter Arms in Barrowden - back in January and splashed out £100,000 on a makeover and renovations.

But an hour after they opened up for the first time on March 20 they were told they’d have to shut up shop that night due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“We didn’t have the best of luck,” said Mark. “I tell people that if I’d bought a duck at that time it would have drowned!

“We opened at 5pm and then at about 6pm a couple of locals said ‘we’re so sorry Mark, we’ve just seen the news, you’ve got to close at midnight’. I got pretty emotional after that!”

Unable to furlough their three new staff members, they chose to keep them on at full pay.

“It meant a lot to them as they have bills and mortgages to pay,” said Mark, 56, whose son Daniel works as a butcher helping out the pub. “We didn’t want to let anyone down.”

Luckily the couple’s business minds kicked in and they set about planning a takeaway service, doing 60 covers for Mother’s Day.

They progressed to supplying the village shop with the likes of toilet rolls and cheese, before expanding the food service to five days, including pie, curry and fish and chip nights.

The pair also started sourcing as much as possible locally, such as takeaway food containers from Rutland Catering and Bar Supplies.

“We are all trying to scratch each other’s backs,” said Mark, who used to be in the furniture industry.

An idyllic setting opposite a village green and duck pond meant they could also serve takeaway beer allowing people to soak up the sun and almost feel ‘normal’.

“It’s a bit like running a seaside pub at the moment,” said Mark. “It’s almost normality.

“We are getting a lot of pats on the back from people who say it’s just great to be able to get a pint and some food and sit by the duck pond.”

Now with the possibility of pubs being allowed to fully reopen - albeit with social distancing - from July they are convinced their business will not only survive, but thrive.

They are spending £40,000 of a government “Boris bounceback loan” on their huge pub garden, kitting it out with new furniture and pathways as well as an outdoor kitchen and bar.

Mark reckons there is enough room for 70 to 80 tables spaced 10 metres apart.

“Our business will definitely survive,” he said. “We’ve got an incredibly determined team here and a tremendously strong backing from the community.

“When this property came on the market last year we jumped at the chance. Rutland is a beautiful place to be. We are delighted to be here and despite all of this it’s still the best decision we ever made.”