Roger Cudlip was looking to buy a butcher shop when he and his wife, Carol, bought the Tom Cobley Tavern in Spreyton, Devon.
A butcher for 39 years in the nearby village of North Tawton, having started as a 10-year-old, Roger had long tried to buy out the business but financing proved difficult. Meanwhile, his wife was working at the Tom Cobley. One day in the pub, he said to the owners: "Isn't it about time you retired?" Their response was: "But who would buy the business?" When he suggested himself, they initially thought he was joking, but agreed that he would have first refusal should they decide to sell.
Around two years later, Roger was playing darts in the pub when he was ushered into the back room by the excited owner, who shook his hand and told him that the pub was his. Slightly taken aback, Roger accepted. That still left the financing, of course, but this time the banks were more forthcoming.
The Cudlips moved into the pub in December 2002. "We've been flat-out ever since," says Roger, who reckons they've had just four days off since then. While they do have some help, it's primarily a family business, and their daughters Lucy, 20, and Laura, 14, help out when they can. The pub was "a bit quiet" when they got it, and they have had to work hard to build up the trade. But Spreyton is a close-knit community, with theirs the only pub in the village, and "the locals have been very supportive". Roger says: "We treat our customers as friends, and that's what it's all about."
The pub has four letting rooms, and the couple have applied for planning permission to add another three. Food has also been a big focus. The pub serves "good old-fashioned food", using lots of local ingredients and meat butchered by Roger himself. They also do a lot of outside catering. "We're not la carte fancy - you get what you get," Roger says. "But my wife is a damned fine cook."