Ricky took over the management of the Sir Colin Campbell Pub in March 2023. At the same time, he moved to the flat above the pub.
We went to meet with him on 26th February 2024. Some interesting stories.
Ricky, a former Police Officer and Environmental Crime Officer, is returning to a role as Environmental Crime Officer in a North London Borough. He said he couldn’t reject the offer from his former boss, as the life as a pub landlord in Kilburn has not been easy.
For a start there have been 4 break-ins in 8 months. He mentioned that one culprit was appearing in court very soon. Not too bad in comparison to the number of break-ins at the North London Tavern, that had 11 break-ins in a space of 6 weeks. Living above the pub helped with preventing too much theft during the break-ins.
Living above a pub, where the only access to your living accommodation is via the pub, is stressful as on your days off you get stopped by the customers in the pub! So there is very little respite from pub’s life. He reckons he worked around 65 hours a week and that time away from the pub in this context was so important, but could not be achieved.
The pub is making money but the struggle with many of Kilburn’s dodgy characters has been a drain. For example, some of the people involved in the Earl of Derby’s stabbing last year tried to get refuge within the pub. They have a looooong list of barred customers.
Living above the pub, he has witnessed the incessant troubles at the corner of Buckley Road and Kilburn High Road, involving drug dealers and addicts. This Anti-social behaviour has been widely reported by local residents but is still taking place.
He has loved meeting some fantastic local customers. However he deplored the fact that both Councils are not looking after the High Road where basic services are not delivered, ie cleaning and repairing the public realm.
In the one year he ran the pub, he received only one email from the Town Centre Manager and had one leaflet dropped which according to him shows the lack of interest by the authorities in Kilburn High Road’s businesses.
Please go to the Colin Campbell on the 4th March, Gav’s first day as the new pub manager. Gav previously managed a pub in Enfield and we wish him success!
Our last question was what he had thought about the “Light Up Kilburn” event. We leave you with his answer captured on video!