Preston People: Winckley Street Ale House

We do a regular series on our social media called #PrestonPeople where we feature a local person, group, or business.

For this edition, we had a chat with Jonny, the owner and manager of Winckley Street Ale House, one of Preston’s best pubs.

Read on to learn more about Jonny and the work he does within Preston’s thriving beer scene!

Society1: Tell us a bit about you and what you do:

JY: My name is Jonny, and I run Winckley Street Ale House. This mostly involves ordering beers, cleaning, talking nonsense, cleaning, social media, cleaning, cellar management, and sometimes I do a bit of cleaning, too

Society1: What do you love about being based in Preston?

JY: Preston punches way above its weight when it comes to beer, and we’re arguably one of the best places in the North for beer lovers. Not only will you find a broader range of beers than most cities, but venues all run by people who really care about the product and the community. And the community is the real cherry on top of the Prestonian sundae; you’ll be hard pushed to meet a more welcoming bunch. Both the staff and the punters will help each other out at the drop of a hat, and that’s what makes organising things such as Preston Pub Festival such a pleasure and a privilege.

Society1: What made you want to take on running a hospitality venue of your own? Any advice for people looking to do the same thing?

JY: To be perfectly frank, I was running Winckley Street Ale House under the previous ownership, and could see the ambition of the place, but also where it was lacking in execution. When the business came to market, the idea of working for another boss who would tie my hands had me considering resignation. That was until I had a conversation with my Dad which essentially boiled down to, “I can fund it if you think you can make it work?”.

So, to sum it up; I did it to save me from having to work for someone else.

Society1: What is your “go-to” local business in Preston?

JY: I would be insufferable without Cedarwood Coffee – they’re easily one of the best in town (especially when the barrel-aged beans go in the guest hopper). Many of my regulars would say I spend far too much time in Plug & Taps, which is probably true, but if Chain House Taproom were a little closer I’d probably spread my time more equally between the two (yes, I’m lazy). I miss Wilko more than I should.