Union Jack brings taste of Britain to Loudoun Street Mall

By Eric Beidel
The Winchester Star

Winchester — The long-awaited opening of the British-style pub and restaurant on the Loudoun Street Mall has generated a lot of interest in recent months.

Union Jack Pub and Restaurant owner Richard Oram, a native of England, poses Monday for a portrait beside the bar in his newly opened establishment on the Loudoun Street Mall in Winchester. The business is in the former Union Bank Building at 101 N. Loudoun St.
(Photo by Scott Mason)

Union Jack Pub and Restaurant owner Richard Oram, a native of England, poses Monday for a portrait beside the bar in his newly opened establishment on the Loudoun Street Mall in Winchester. The business is in the former Union Bank Building at 101 N. Loudoun St. (Photo by Scott Mason)

That interest manifested itself in a steady stream of customers Monday, its first day of business.

Minutes after the Union Jack Pub and Restaurant opened its doors at 11 a.m., dozens of people filed into the former Union Bank Building at 101 N. Loudoun St.

“We were taken by surprise by the rush of people,” said owner and England native Richard Oram, who estimated the initial lunch crowd at 50.

His staff of 11 was a little overwhelmed at first. The servers couldn’t get to the busy tables quickly enough, and some customers walked out, Oram said.

“Any new business, especially a restaurant, will have its glitches,” he said.

Those who stayed or found a seat once the lunch crowd left seemed to like what they saw, ate, and drank.

“This is excellent,” said Skip Grove, who sat at a table in the bar section of the restaurant with his wife Sally early in the afternoon.

The Groves, who live in Frederick County, each ordered a pub fish sandwich, the most popular menu item during the lunch hours on the Union Jack’s first day.

“Lots of sandwiches and lots of shepherd’s pie,” said chef Frank Mayo as he cut dough in the kitchen for a handful of beef-and-kidney pies.

The kitchen also got quite a few orders for bangers and mash — grilled sausages and mashed potatoes.

“It’s been start and stop, but most of the stuff has come out pretty well,” said Mayo, who has handled kitchen duties at restaurants in Loudoun County and Leesburg, but never had experience cooking traditional British fare until now.

He has worked closely with Oram to put his own twist on the traditional English dishes, Mayo said.

Winchester couple Bill and Sherry Rawls-Bryce said they gave the restaurant a “B-plus” after their first visit.

Bill is an airline pilot and travels to London about four times a month. He found the decor and detail of the renovated building remarkable, but said the restaurant reminded him of something out of Napa Valley (in the California wine country) as much as England.

Bill drank a Boddington’s British Ale, one of several beers on tap, and ordered shepherd’s pie.

“The potatoes on top were very good,” he said, adding that he was a bit disappointed that his British beverage was served in a German glass.

“When any business opens, they’re trying to get their rhythm,” Sherry said. “We always go back a second time.”

In recent months, the restaurant took shape in a 19th century building that Oram and his wife Debra Johnson restored to its original 1878 facade.

Mostly a home for jewelers since the 1950s, the downtown building now features a collection of tables that lead back to a 50-foot-long bar.

Upstairs, customers will find a lounge area. And up another flight of stairs, they’ll find the British Invasion Room, complete with a sound and stage system.

After Christmas, the British Invasion Room will be further enhanced with TVs and dart boards.

Patrons such as Skip Grove already have given thumbs-up to such mundane features as the hand dryers in the pub’s rest rooms.

“They’re really state of the art,” he said about the sleek, powerful Mitsubishi dryers. “Just the attention to details in here is amazing.”

People are already booking private parties in the new restaurant, Oram said.

The owners held a party for about 150 people Saturday before officially opening. Another party was scheduled for Monday night, and three Christmas parties have been arranged, he said.

“This is something [Winchester] has never had before,” Skip Grove said. “A real British pub.”

Like Skip, many others think the pub will play a huge role in bringing more energy and interest to the downtown area.