Maija Cartwright celebrated her 30th anniversary as the licensee of The Chequers in Sutton, Ely on Saturday July 16th, owned by leading community pub company, Admiral Taverns.
Maija started her journey in hospitality with her husband in the late 1980’s when they took over another nearby pub. They ran this for three-years before coming to the helm of The Chequers in 1992. They ran the pub as a duo until recently when Maija’s husband sadly passed away, and she has continued to run the pub herself, continuing to loyally support her local community. On Saturday, Maija was visited by Admiral Taverns’ Business Development Manager, Jean-Paul Russek, receiving a certificate of achievement, flowers, champagne, and a gift voucher from Admiral to recognise the outstanding achievement and service to the pub.
The Chequers is a social hub for the community, a traditional village pub which Maija and her late husband spent the past 30-years building into a welcoming asset for the residents to enjoy. Maija is popular in the area and well known for supporting multiple community initiatives and local charities such as the Scouts and the Arthur Rank Hospice Charity.
Maija Cartwright, Licensee at The Chequers, said: “The last 30-years at The Chequers have been amazing! I am so grateful to my team, the local community and of course to Admiral Taverns for all their support. A lot has changed since taking over, but I couldn’t be happier to be celebrating 30-years at the pub with all my fantastic customers and friends. I love it here and can’t wait to see what the future brings.”
The Chequers boasts a broad selection of draught lager and cider, real ale, wines, and spirits, as well as a small but delicious food menu for customers to enjoy – most of which is homemade on-site. It includes traditional pub favourites such lasagne, chilli con carne and curries.
Customers are treated to regular entertainment in the form of monthly charity quiz nights, as well as occasional themed gatherings such as ‘Steak and Kidney Pudding Night’. To celebrate her anniversary, Maija hosted a barbeque in collaboration with the Scouts – who will receive all the profits – for the community to come and enjoy whilst raising a class to her success.
Jean-Paul Russek, Admiral Taverns’ Business Development Management, said: “A huge congratulations to Maija for such an incredible achievement and for reaching this milestone! Admiral is committed to working with passionate licensees who throw themselves into their pub and all aspects of community life. It has been a privilege working with her to make The Chequers a long-term sustainable business and we wish Maija the very best for the future.”
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Notes to Editors
Admiral Taverns (“Admiral”), is the UK’s number one community pub group. Headquartered in Chester, the Group operates a national estate of c.1,600 predominantly wet-led community pubs. Admiral’s unique operational approach has earnt industry recognition with the Group awarded Best Leased and Tenanted Pub Company in 2019, 2016 and 2013 and ranked highly commended as Best Community Pub Operator in 2017. The Group has also been consistently highly rated by licensees in the industry’s independent annual Tenant Track survey, exceeding the scores of all its national peers, as well as by the Pubs Code Adjudicator (PCA), who in its 2022 annual report, highlighted Admiral Taverns as leading from the front in terms of support for its licensees during the pandemic.