Thoughtful staff at an independent Swansea pub have been praised for offering a free buffet for struggling families who wish to host a funeral reception or wake at the venue. Rob Norris, landlord of The Coopers Arms in Plasmarl, said he wanted to "give something back" to his community and help people facing tough and sad times exacerbated by the cost of living crisis.
Rob, 42, recently approached his kitchen manager, Nicola Lewis, with the idea of offering free buffets for "families in need of help" that are finding it difficult to "pick up the pieces" after a loved one's death. The pair have decided to offer their popular cold buffet, which they serve at birthday parties and other special events, at funeral receptions in the pub completely for free.
"I just wanted to do something to give back to the community and help," Rob said. "Some people pass away and leave nothing unfortunately. It can be a lot of money for a family to pay for a funeral and everything afterwards – a buffet can easily be between £300 and £400. I don't come from much myself so I'm just trying to do what I can for the community to give back and to offer some things for free. It's our cold buffet the same as we do for a birthday party – sandwiches, pasta, pasties etc."
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Rob's comments come after a post on The Coopers Arms page on Facebook explaining the new offering was shared more than 500 times in less than 24 hours and gained dozens of positive responses. The initial post said: "We know that funerals can be a tough time and expensive. We at The Coopers have decided to offer free buffets for families in need of help at these sad times. We can provide food for up to 50 guests – all that's needed is a £50 non-refundable payment when booking. This payment is to secure the room, cleaner, and the bar staff.
"We hope that we can help in tough times and make things less stressful for family and friends. Thank you, Rob, Sean, and the Coopers team. We have wheelchair access into our pub, a big free-to-use car park that holds up to 35 cars, easy to find too."
Immediately after the post was shared people from across Plasmarl and beyond took to the comments to praise Rob and his team for their generosity. One follower of the pub's page said: "Absolutely amazing, such a lovely gesture" while another said: "This is such a nice gesture, well done" and a third wrote: "Awhh honestly you have a heart of gold, I don’t know any business that offers what you have to offer every time you go above and beyond!"
Another way Rob wants to "give back" to the local community is through community fun days. Rob, who grew up in the Penlan area of the city but moved to Plasmarl in 2006, said he felt "there isn't much for young people to do" in Plasmarl or the wider Swansea area so after taking the pub on in 2022 he decided to run the occasional "children's day" for families in the community.
Most recently the pub hosted princesses during a community Princess Day, superheroes Spiderman and Batman for a Superheroes Day, and animals from A&S Animal Encounters for a day aimed at supporting young people with autism. Rob also has plans to host activities for older children and teenagers in the near future.
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