Brilliant story behind man who bought famous Leeds United pub while 'drunk' on night out — Leeds Live 23/8/25

'I woke up, saw the profit and loss sheet, saw how much it was losing and thought ‘heck, what have I done?!'

The owner of a famous Leeds United pub was “drunk” when he bought it in a “heart-ruling-head” spur-of-the-moment decision.

Leeds fan Jamie Lawson, 53, admitted he’d had “quite a few beers” when he acquired The Old Peacock which is situated across the road from the club’s Elland Road Stadium. The famous pub dates back to 1826, almost a hundred years before the club was established in 1919.

The pub’s legacy is so entwined with Leeds United’s history that it even had a hand in the club’s formation. The brewers who owned the pub had developed the once barren land across the road into a sports field and called it the Old Peacock Ground. It eventually became Elland Road Stadium.

Jamie’s first match at Elland Road would have been when he was around six years old and attacking midfielder Tony Currie was a childhood hero of his at the time. He went along with his dad Bob, who worked at Tetley as a brewer, then years later opened the Ossett Brewery in 1998.

Jamie founded the Ossett Brewery Pub Company in 2003 when he entered the hospitality industry, acquiring The Black Bull in Liversedge. The businessman, who is fluent in Japanese, had been building up his capital for years while working as a teacher in Tokyo. He now owns 32 pubs and bars.

The opportunity to take over The Old Peacock fell into Jamie’s lap, in 2013, as he was swigging down beers with a couple of pals. This will have been around the time first-time manager David O’Leary had taken over from George Graham, eventually leading the club to Champions League Semi-Final a couple years later.

Jamie said: “My friend worked at the company who owned the actual bricks and mortar of the pub. He came to us and said ‘Look, right, there’s an opportunity to take over the Old Peacock. I know you’re a big Leeds fan'

“I’d had quite a few beers, at the time, and it was one of those heart-ruling-head moments! I woke up in the morning, saw the profit and loss sheet, saw how much money it was losing and thought ‘heck, what have I done?!’”

Jamie was quick to add that he hadn't signed the paperwork but had sealed his ownership with a handshake agreement on that fateful night. The historic pub had been losing “a lot of money” and had degenerated into a shabby “spit and sawdust” venue at the time – but the Leeds fan was not to be deterred.

Jamie set about turning the bar around with the freehold owner. Today, it boasts custom peacock wallpaper and a special stained-glass window, along with a treasure trove of memorabilia, and various outdoor extensions. Every four of five years, Jamie and his team have continued to tinker and update the venue which he says is standard practice across the industry.

Jamie opened up about a woman who has worked behind the bar for 37 years. Dawn Oates is a massive Leeds fan who lay down a dealbreaker of a condition that Jamie had to meet when he took over the pub.

Jamie said: “We have a lady who works as one of our staff members, Dawn. She worked in the pub way before we got it – about 37 years. We took her on. One of her conditions about continuing to work for the Peacock when we took over was that at 2.50pm, she gets to run across the road [to the stadium], as she’s a season ticket holder.

“She’s pulling pints until about 2.45pm, and then runs across! That’s a true story! Dawn, she’s a character who’s unfazed about being in the company of anybody, whether that’s [current Leeds United chairman] Paraag for his Thai lunch or Gary Kelly. She’s literally got a portfolio of players who have been behind the bar.”

The majority of the pub’s turnover is pre-match with 3pm Saturday kick-offs, in the sunshine, being the “optimum situation, the dream” for Jamie. If Leeds win, then fans come back to the bar in “droves”.

Jamie said: “The pub is very much dependent on the football. It is very much the unofficial Leeds United pub. Quite frankly, our business plan centres around being geared up for a high volume turn over on matchdays. I took it, growing up as a Leeds fan, for that very reason. It revolves around the club.”

With there being fewer matches in the Premier League than the lower divisions, promotion has equated to less business for the pub. Jamie said this wasn’t a concern as he believes “a higher calibre will get longer cup runs” and he believes it should balance out with the number of games and attendance. Plus, there’s “more of a buzz” around Elland Road in the leadup to a Premier League season with higher profile friendlies which then equals a greater attendance.

During Jamie’s time in charge of the Peacock, various players have put money behind the bar for special occasions and they’ve ceremoniously ‘changed the name’ to honour.

The first player to put money behind the bar was Luke Ayling when the pub was ceremoniously ‘renamed’ to The Bielsa to honour Marcelo Bielsa, following the ex-manager’s departure from the club, in 2022. A couple of years later, as Ayling was leaving the club, the pub was renamed The Luke Ale Inn.

Ayling came to the site and mingled with customers, “the atmosphere was absolutely electric” with fans getting photos and videos with the pony-tailed right-back. Jamie said members of the press were in attendance and his visit went viral. Since then, more players have followed suit with the likes of Patrick Bamford and Jack Harrison more recently treating fans to a four-figure bar tab. Jamie said Harrison put the money behind the bar as a way to “ingratiate himself” back with the fans after returning to the squad.

Jamie said: “Luke was the first one that started putting money behind the bar. You always get your cynics that say they’ve done it for PR but he was just being generous.

“Put it this way, when they ring up and say ‘Can we put some money behind the bar?’ We’re not going to resist too strongly!”

Jamie, a father of three children, aged 10, eight and seven, says one of the most wholesome moments of running the pub and dealing with Leeds United came about when his eldest son Elijah had just had an operation in hospital.

The club had asked if they could use another of his pubs, Salt in Boston Spa - which is close to the training ground in Thorp Arch - for a staff get-together. Jamie arranged for the bar to be opened early for them, so they had plenty of space before the public arrived. Jamie wasn't able to attend on the day as he was at Elijah’s bedside in hospital.

Jamie said: “I said I couldn’t join them because I was in the hospital with my little lad who was having an operation. Next time I dropped into the bar, they’d left me a Leeds United shirt for my son Elijah.

“It said ‘Get well soon’ and all the players had signed it and it said, ‘Best wishes from Leeds United’. That was a special moment for my son and it sits on his bedroom wall which is lovely.”