This year marks nine years since Cheryl and Jamie Warren became joint owners of the historic Jamberoo Pub - but their family’s connection to the venue runs much deeper.

Built in 1857, the pub has had a long and colorful history. Its relationship with the Warren family began in 1987 when they first started running the business.

“We've been running the Jamberoo Pub since 1987,” Jamie says. “So I've basically worked there ever since - it's really the only job I’ve ever had.”

Jamie became co-owner with his father in 1995, around the same time he and Cheryl got married.

“Jamie and I met many years ago, and I actually worked at the pub back in the early ’90s,” says Cheryl. “I’m a CPA and tax agent, and while I’d been working for other accountants in public practice, I was already deeply involved in the pub’s accounting.”

But Cheryl’s ties to the pub go even further back than she originally realised.

“I later found out that the man who changed the pub’s façade in the 1950s - giving it the look it has today - was actually my uncle’s stepfather, a Welsh opera singer who owned it at the time,” she says.

In 2018, Cheryl and Jamie officially bought out Jamie’s father to become co-owners. Since then, they’ve been running the pub together, and the love they have for it has never faded.

“It’s always been a classic old country pub that needed some work, but it had this incredible atmosphere,” Jamie says. “That’s something that’s stuck with me all these years.”

Jamie and Cheryl on the Jamberoo Pub veranda on their wedding day (11 February 1995). Source: Jamie Warren

Jamberoo has long been a farming town, and Jamie reflects on how the pub’s patrons have changed over the years, even if the essence hasn’t.

“Having first lived in Kiama and then moving to Jamberoo, it was a real farming community. And the crowd you would have in the pub most afternoons would be the dairy farmers with their dogs, pigs, snakes, even horses at times,” says Jamie. 

“It was just very jovial and there was a lot of camaraderie. There's obviously not as many farmers now and a lot of new people. But there is still that farming vibe - we still have roughly 15 to 20 dairy farms - but we have also connected with the various sporting bodies in town and community groups. There’s still a real sense of togetherness here.”

The past nine years of ownership, though, haven’t been without challenges.

“We’ve been through one of the most tumultuous periods in recent history,” Jamie says. “I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a publican in Jamberoo who’s dealt with what we’ve faced - especially the COVID pandemic.”

“Getting through COVID, following all the rules, and trying to keep things going - it wasn’t easy. Even before that, bushfires and other events hit businesses across the South Coast. It’s been a tough run, but we’re finally starting to see improvement.”

One of the more meaningful additions to the pub is the Johnny Warren Room, which honours Jamie’s uncle and godfather - legendary Socceroos player and SBS commentator, Johnny Warren. The room is filled with memorabilia and photos celebrating his life.

“It’s a really special space,” Jamie says. “Every day we get to celebrate his legacy and share it with everyone who walks through the door. It’s the last thing people expect to find in a country pub.”

“The number of people who come in and say, ‘Wow, I was at that game,’ or ‘My dad took me there’ - it’s incredible,” Cheryl adds. “People from all generations connect with those memories, and it’s amazing to hear their stories.”

While Cheryl and Jamie have only officially owned the pub for nine years, their goal remains the same: to keep the Jamberoo Pub a warm, welcoming place for locals and visitors alike.

“We want people to walk in, be wowed by the history on the walls, and experience something they can’t find in many other places,” Jamie says.