North Lincolnshire husband and wife duo team up to manage local football club facilities

A North Lincolnshire couple has taken over Winterton Rangers Football Club’s café, bar, and function room, providing food for footballers and supporters.

After opening the café and bar in January, the couple has seen great success gaining a 5-star health and hygiene rating from North Lincolnshire Council and serving sourced, affordable pub food.

Before embarking on this new venture, Wendy previously ran local pub the Butchers Arms for seven years with her husband at the time. Wendy sold the lease following his passing, working as a nurse during this time also.

In partnership with husband Andy, who works full-time as a butcher, the pair manage the catering at Winterton Football Club’s café, restaurant, and 200-person function room, sourcing fresh produce from Andy’s butchers.

The duo employ five staff and as well as three volunteers, including Wendy’s mother and close family friends, and additional support from the local Lions group.

Commenting on the venture, Wendy said: “We didn’t know what to expect from the start, after advertising on Facebook we couldn’t believe how many people were coming through the door. On Friday nights, people were having to wait for tables.”

Prior to the business’ launch, Wendy applied for a Kickstart grant from UKSE – a local investment company that provides up to £1.5 million to growing businesses – which helped with the purchase of equipment such as fryers, a cooker, and microwaves.

“I had heard from a local business that there were grants available and applied. It was a very easy process, and the start-up academy was also very useful, which gave me a lot of information,” Wendy said.

Looking to the future, the couple hopes to maintain a good standard of customer service, secure more functions, and begin offering Sunday lunches.

Pete Newton, Regional Executive at UKSE, said: “It is great to see Wendy and Andy take on this exciting challenge, supporting their local football club and the wider Winterton community. The venture has already been incredibly well received and we wish them continued success going forward.”

UKSE provides loan and equity finance of up to £1.5m to existing growing businesses, particularly those creating jobs – for further information please contact the team on 0114 224 2424.