Tom lands his first pub as The Earle Arms reopens

Tom Ginn is one of the directors of The Earle Arms, the country pub and restaurant in the Norfolk village of Heydon, which reopens to the public today. Folk Features meets him

What Tom Ginn doesn’t know about the hospitality industry is probably not worth knowing. The Director of The Earle Arms in Heydon, which reopens to the public today, started out in the industry 30 years ago. “I was 13 when I started as a kitchen porter at the Oaklands Hotel and I’m now 43,” says Tom. “It all began with a little Saturday job.” His career really took off at Adnams. “That’s where I really cut my teeth – I was 22 when I got my first General Manager’s role.”

Tom learnt a lot during his time there. So much so, he says: “I decided to go into consultancy and recruitment, where I’ve spent the past 15 years. I’ve been working with businesses, helping them with finding people, social media and creative design, and Bread Hospitality was born five years ago.”

His CV is a busy one. He was a co-founder of Norwich Porridge and four years ago he opened MILK Kitchen and TOAST Kitchen in Yalm Foodhall, Royal Arcade, Norwich. “So, at that time, we had Bread, Milk and Toast, which was fun.”

Then, the opportunity came to take over the Frank’s Bar site in Bedford Street. “We opened Dick’s Bar three years ago this July, ready for the Norwich Lane’s Summer Fayre.”

The following year, there was no Summer Fayre, but Tom and team threw a street party instead, under the auspice of Bread Events. And last year, with the return of the Summer Fayre, there was a surprise addition to the live music line-up: Professor Green. Tom explains: “We’ve known each other for a few years, and I’d called him the week before and said, ‘Do you fancy coming and doing a little set for me?’ Initially, the rapper also known as Stephen Manderson said he couldn’t make it but there was a last-minute change of plan on the day itself. “We somehow managed to pull together this amazing 45-minute set on the street,” says Tom. “And on the back of that we did our first ‘I Used To Rave And Now I Roast’ sell-out event in Yalm, which was great fun.” So, is Tom an old raver? “Do you know what, I still am a little bit! When I was walking up the stairs to Yalm and could hear the DJ, I thought, ‘This is a bit of me’.”

Tom calls Dick’s Bar “a chameleon business: come into Dick’s in the morning, and it feels like a café; come at lunch and it’s a perfect city centre restaurant; come in the afternoon and we pivot into wine and beer and cocktails (we do a happy hour). There is something for everyone.”

The latest venture is The Earle Arms pub in Heydon, the picturesque estate village between Norwich and Holt. “The Earle Arms is such a fantastic pub,” says Tom. “I’d always wanted a pub, and I was fortunate enough to meet the lovely people at the Heydon Estate. We got talking about the pub and maybe using Bread services to find a tenant for it. We ended up having dinner and decided at the end of it we should open the pub together! It’s a bit of a match made in heaven, and we all bring something different to the table and share a passion for great hospitality.

“It’s an exciting time. The industry itself is not going through the best of times – it’s super tough out there – but it can’t get any worse, so it is about keeping your head above the parapet until it starts to get better. We have all the resources for us to be able to pull it off.”

For the past few months, Tom and the team have been busy restoring the Grade II listed building which dates to the 16^th century. Erasmus Earle purchased the Heydon Estate in 1640, and the pub bears his family name. CAMRA (the Campaign for Real Ale) recognised The Earle Arms as having an interior of special historic interest (check out the Norfolk pamments floor tiles when you go!).

The renovation work required was extensive. “The majority of the work we’ve done the customer will never see. There was so much groundwork. It’s been freshly painted but is not going to feel so much different to what it was before. There won’t be any modern touches. Who doesn’t love a proper pub, hanging baskets and all?

“We’ve taken the best things of what a pub should be, and we are creating it in this beautiful, quaint village. There are those who know Heydon and love it and there are those who don’t have never heard of it – it’s almost like those who have heard of it don’t want to tell anyone because it might get too busy.”

Tom’s wife Laura designed the new logo for the pub. “The image we used was recreated from the Bulwer family crest which is featured on the coat of arms across the Heydon Estate.”

As for the menu, Tom says: “The food is going to be really simple with six starters and six mains, and we’ll source what we can from the estate and nearby farms and really showcase Norfolk produce.”

So, what’s the next project for Tom? “People ask me, ‘What is your five-year plan?’, but I really don’t have one. I do things that I feel are right, but I would love to do more in Heydon as a village.”

The Earle Arms, Heydon, Norfolk, NR11 6AD. Telephone 01603 531977 and email hello@earlearms.co.uk. Follow on @earlearmsheydon on Instagram and visit earlearms.co.uk.

Featured images – Folk Features