David Roder runs a community-minded pub on the corner of Tower Street, the Waterworks. He encourages everyone to mix and meet new people and he has created a place where women feel safe and comfortable to come in on their own.
Throughout the year, David and his staff run charity events for local groups and this year the have raised £600 for the Rye Foodbank, £300 for Ukranian Unicef, £100 for the RNLI at Rye Harbour, and £100 for the air ambulance. David says it is his way of giving back to the community which supports him in all his enterprises.
It is a pub that meets the needs of the locals in Rye and it will be open on Christmas Day from 12 noon till 3pm so people can pop in for some Christmas cheer.
Image Credits: Kt bruce .
Why has this been designated a news story? Christmas is always a slow time for news but publications must be careful not to confuse hard news with advertising puffery, which is what this piece looks like. With small publications, such as Rye News, there is always a danger that they come to see themselves as cheerleaders for local businesses, which leads to stories that are advertorials rather than editorials. I have nothing against the Waterworks pub, it’s a great little hostelry, but I ask that Rye News scrutinises what it puts in its news section far more closely in future. If you haven’t got any news, please go out and find some rather than writing PR stories for local business. Alternatively, why don’t you introduce a section that includes local company profiles, or whatever? This type of article needs to be properly identified and not passed off as news. Thank you.
The great thing about an online newspaper is that if you aren’t interested in an article, you can just scroll on… I found the article interesting and for me, there was ‘news’ content. I didn’t know about the amazing charitable activities undertaken by David and his team. They almost deserved an article in their own right – particularly the contribution to Rye’s Foodbank which does so much for our local community. I also think there is value in publicising the opening hours – particularly at this time of year when loneliness can (literally) be a killer. I’m more than happy to read something that you might consider to be ‘advertising’ if just one person gets to experience David’s warm welcome and hospitality, when they might otherwise have been home alone.
Personally I think there should be a separate page for advertising on Rye news,with a standard fee to do so, too many times we have seen individuals bigging up their favourite businesses in town, it could also be used for any other business, whether positive or negative, for those that wish to vent their spleen.
I’m glad to say I don’t think The Waterworks needs any of the modest incidental advertising, given its success! A burgeoning business has been created out of nothing, and the article in fact says more about charity than business – which, I appreciate could be perceived as some kind of oblique PR – but why shouldn’t local community journalism champion local business and highlight good causes like the food bank?
If you look at it another way, isn’t Rye News the very best place to give local enterprise a boost? In this regard, RN is a bit like our own little Trip Advisor telling visitors and tourists where to spend their money in our community – and don’t we want that?
Good article, great pub
I was very disappointed with the accusations that the Waterworks was gaining some advantage having a review of the pub in the Rye News.
Its is an excellent pub and doesn’t need any promotion. Dave and the team do a great job not only raising money for local charities but running a friendly, vibrant establishment with great ales.
Disclaimer: I am a resident of the San Francisco Bay area in California. Thus, I understand that my opinion doesn’t amount to a hill of beans.
The Waterworks pub is nothing less than an inspiration to me. I followed the pandemic lockdown as it played out and wondered how many of the places in Rye that my wife and I discovered over the past seven years (and fell in love with) would survive. Then the George was damaged by fire. When we thought things couldn’t get worse, there was Dave Roder fighting for his life to keep the Waterworks from closing. Sitting at a table on the sidewalk selling to cars and walk-up customers. Taking beer orders from the website and personally delivering them around the community. When things loosened up a bit he was there with his company of players making us laugh with goofy video posts. I am still touchingly “haunted” by a video of Waterworks customers singing along with the old Peters & Lee recording of “Welcome Home” at the end of which David Roder, publican and music director, inserted “enjoy the beer” for the actual lyrics. When I watch the postings from Shanty nights and read about the new Waterworks Brewery & Taproom I am reminded that this success does nothing but foster community pride. I am so grateful to Dave and his team for not giving up or giving in. Instead, they looked misfortune in the eye, then kicked it in the ass. Hard work. Long days and nights. I am not exaggerating when I use the word “inspiring.”
So yes, the wife and I will jump on another ten hour flight, then endure the adventure that is the rail transport from Heathrow to Rye. Walking up to the George from the station we will stop into the Waterworks pub and breath in the air while enjoying the warmth of the establishment. Although Rye is 5,400 away from where we live, it is our home, and the Rye Waterworks Micropub is our “local.”