From left to right Cholmondeley deputy manager Leigh, Cholmondeley manager Helen, Cheshire Cat owner Tim, Fitzherbert Arms head chef Connor, Cheshire Cat owner Mary and Fitzherbert Manager Rebecca!

Our pub company Cheshire Cat Pubs and Inns, owned by Tim and Mary, is celebrating again after two of their pubs achieved great accolades at the Pub and Bar Magazine Awards in London on Wednesday 26th June 2024. The Cholmondeley Arms and the Fitzherbert Arms made the journey to the awards having been chosen as County winners of Cheshire and Staffordshire respectively.

Cholmondeley Arms Manager Helen and Deputy manager Leigh arrived in London to see if the Cholmondeley Arms Team could go one further and win the Northwest region. Great news! The Chum won it! We now have the honour of ‘Best in the Northwest’ back within our Company Cheshire Cat. We held the honour previously with our sister pub the Church Inn back in 2021. Owners Tim and Mary were at the awards to help the teams celebrate!

The Fitzherbert Arms meanwhile had already won ‘Best Pub in Staffordshire’ for the third year running. The Fitz Manager Rebecca and Head Chef Connor headed to London to see if the Fitzherbert Arms Team could go one further and win the West Midlands region. To their complete surprise they went one better and won the honour of the National ‘Best Taste’ Award sponsored by Tyrells Crisps, which recognised most notably the great food performance under the stewardship of Head Chef Connor and his kitchen team and of course the effort of the entire team who make the Fitz the great pub it is today.

Please check out the photo of the entire team at the awards and you’ll notice the enormous bag of Tyrells crisps which has a photo of the Fitzherbert Arms across the front! It was fun carrying that around London after the awards! All in all, it was a great night in London, and we are all very proud of Rebecca, Connor and the entire Fitz team and Helen and Leigh and the entire Cholmondeley Arms team.

We are very excited to announce that Cheshire Cat Pubs and Bars have been nominated for three very prestigious awards at the 2019 Casual Dining Awards, taking place in London on Wednesday 27th February. We feel very honoured to be nominated for two such special awards as ‘Employer of the Year’ and ‘Multi-Site Operator of the Year’ and are also very proud of our sister pub, the Cholmondeley Arms, for being nominated for ‘Pub of the Year’. Our owners, Tim Bird and Mary McLaughlin, are heading off to the Big Smoke as guests of our excellent wine suppliers, Boutinot, to attend the awards ceremony, and we will keep you posted on the results of our nominations.

What a great day it was for the Three Greyhounds 300th Birthday celebrations! With a dog show, an Allostock ‘bake off’ and great live music from house band, Dave and Howard, it was a day to remember!

30 dogs were registered for the dog show with five different categories such as ‘cheeky chappie’, ‘golden oldie’ and ‘Best in show’. Well done to Max the Tibetan Terrier for winning Best in Show.

We want to say a massive thank you to all our loyal customers who joined the festivities and to all the staff for their hard work!​

Well done to Kelsall Kwizzicals for winning our grand final Ted to Head Quiz held at the Three Greyhounds Inn!

Merlin Brewery have kindly created the house stout for the Three Greyhounds Inn. Black Hound is a beautiful stout and has been introduced to mark the 300th anniversary of our pub in 2018. So pop in and enjoy a pint and raise a glass to the Three G’s!

Thanks to Joe our Assistant manager for posing for the camera and Sarah from Merlin for designing the new badge and David for brewing the stout!

The top movers and shakers of the UK drinks industry gathered last night in London to hear the results of the Imbibe Personality of the Year Awards 2018.

The nominees were voted for by Imbibe magazine’s readers in record-breaking numbers and the shortlist included the highest calibre of UK on-trade professionals.

Tim Bird, co-founder of Cheshire Cat Pubs & Bars picked up the award for Pub Personality of the Year.

Imbibe editor, Chris Losh, commented: ‘Tim has worked in the industry for over 35 years, and since he’s saved many pubs from closure in that time, it’s safe to say the UK’s pub scene would not have been the same without him.

‘He’s proved himself amazing at running everything from big pub groups to small independents, and, for the last seven years, his own group of country pubs and Inns. This passion for the industry is exactly what Imbibe Magazine is all about’.

Judges for the competition included restaurateur George Bergier, the Connaught Bar’s Ago Perrone, Michelin-starred chef Adam Byatt, Northcote’s Craig Bancroft, Gin Journey’s Leon Dalloway, Beer Belle Annabel Smith, Mixology Group’s Myles Cunliffe and the Imbibe editorial team.

Imbibe launched the Personality of the Year Awards in 2011 and previous winners have included Heston Blumenthal, Ronan Sayburn MS, Thinking Drinkers, Alex Kratena, Christine Parkinson, Xavier Rousset MS, Dee Davies, Lyndon Higginson, Stuart McCluskey, Salvatore Calabrese, Laura Rhys MS, Thomas Decan, the Galvin Brothers and Jake Burger, as well as many other on-trade professionals.

The 2018 awards were presented on Monday 12th February at Mahiki Kensington.

Launched in March 2007, Imbibe magazine has rapidly become the UK’s leading magazine for on-trade drinks professionals working in premium UK establishments. Imbibe is a quarterly magazine, with more than 20,000 drinks buyers and servers in the UK receiving a copy. Copies are available upon request.

Imbibe Magazine is the UK’s leading drinks magazine and tonight at their annual awards in London our owner Tim was chosen as ‘Pub Personality of the Year 2018’.

Tim was up against some of the pub industry’s top talent on the night, but the judges not only looked at Tim’s vast experience in the industry but particularly the success of Cheshire Cat Pubs and Bars, Tim’s company that he operates with his wife and business partner Mary McLaughlin. They have taken pubs that were either closed or close to closure and through their restoration have created one of the best small pub companies in the UK!

On winning this prestigious award, Tim thanked the team at Cheshire Cat…..”I have had many proud moments in my career but nothing has made me prouder than the achievement of our pubs. Starting our own business was the best thing we have ever done and tonight I share this award with Mary and the Cheshire Cat team! I would like to thank Imbibe Magazine for giving me one of the proudest moments in my career! I look forward to celebrating with the team!”