Rebecca and I were both in secure jobs before we decided to take a leap of faith on opening a wedding and entertainment venue. In January 2017, we first opened our doors at Woodville, operating as a tea room on one side of the building and an entertainment venue in the main room.
We quickly became busy with functions and shows, and the tea room thrived right alongside it, fueled by Becs’ incredible homemade cakes. I have always had a deep passion for good food, so I started creating little specials menus for lunchtimes. Word spread quickly, and they became incredibly popular.
By 2018, we had transformed the tea room into a full restaurant, serving great meals at affordable prices. Prior to that, in September 2017, we launched our carvery. It went from strength to strength, and we were incredibly proud when it won "Best Carvery" and "Carvery of the Year" in 2018.
"As we all know, COVID-19 hit hard in March 2020. Every business was closed to the public, and we had to adapt to survive. So, we birthed our delivery service."
During the lockdowns, we were the only business in the area offering Sunday roast deliveries, and we absolutely smashed it. We are proud to say we are still thriving from that service today. As my confidence in the kitchen grew during that time, I began to create better, more adventurous menus which have been a real people-pleaser ever since.
Moving forward to May 2025, we had outgrown our premises at Woodville. We took the next big step and managed to secure a beautiful new location in Hartshorne. The Jennings Rooms @ The Millwheel was born.
It was an incredibly tough couple of weeks for us. We had confirmed bookings to uphold at Woodville, while simultaneously working around the clock to renovate, redecorate, and prepare our new location.
Finally, the 19th of May 2025 arrived. We opened the doors of The Jennings Rooms @ The Millwheel and were thrilled to welcome both our loyal regulars and new customers to our brand new premises.
