The Pipe Major in Yew Tree Avenue, Dagenham was opened in June 2015 by pub chain Marston’s.
Kristina Brunt has worked there since 2019 when she started as a member of the floor staff before working her way into a managerial position in October last year.
“It really is a little community that we’ve built here,” said Kristina.
“We’re a family restaurant – we’re all about community.
“We have regulars come in every single day – some just come in for a cup of tea to talk to us.
“We’re not here just to run a business, we’re here to grow friendships.
“We’re more of a community than a business.”
Kristina explained the importance of retaining the connection between the Pipe Major and the Girl Pipers – where she suspects the name of the pub originates from.
“It is a really important connection for us to uphold,” she said.
“They’re in here quite often to have dinner as a group.”
According to Kristina, The Pipe Major has had it’s fair share of famous visitors as well with the likes of Keith Lemon and Danny Dyer all enjoying a drink there in years gone by.
“Danny Dyer popped in for a drink when he was filming last year in Rainham,” Kristina recalled.
“I must mention our fantastic team that works so hard to provide our guests with a memorable experience as well.”
The Pipe Major has 21 front of house staff and 13 kitchen staff.
Kristina claims that the carvery and the beer garden are two of The Pipe Major’s most attractive features.
“It is so busy here in the summer,” she said.
“We’ve got the classic pub garden vibe – we actually had to order more chairs last summer as we just didn’t have enough even though we had about 40.”
“I also want people to be aware that we are now dog friendly – we weren’t originally but now we always welcome people in with their dogs.
“We believe that dogs are part of the family, and they deserve to be included in our dining experience.”
“I think it’s fantastic – we’ve seen the studios grow and we’ve had the builders in here and studio staff members – we’ve got them booked in for the end of the month for an end of production drinks event.
“It’s great for business.”
When asked about the future of the Pipe Major, Kristina said: “We just want to watch the business grow – I don’t think we’re reaching full potential at the moment but I’m sure we will.”
According to Kristina, full potential is the pub being “extremely busy every single day”.
“We like to watch our guests enjoy themselves,” she added.
“That’s why we installed TVs last year for the Euros.
“We’re just trying to get people together and football, drinks and food all go hand in hand for that.”
