She fled the Islamic Republic, became a barmaid in London and then got her own pub at the age of 26. Now, at 31, Mahdis Neghabian has been named Licensee of the Year, meaning she is recognized as the best barkeeper in the country.
There were a few bumps in the road on her way to the award. First, her family disapproved of any job that involved alcohol. Then there was the pub she bought, the Camden Eye, a rundown one-room drinking den favoured by the Hell’s Angels.
She told The Evening Standard of London: “It was really hard and intimidating to begin with. The customers were gang members, drug dealers and pimps and they didn’t like a woman, especially someone from Iran, telling them how to behave or that they weren’t welcome.
“I had threats and some dodgy moments and I had to bar a lot of people, but I just held my ground. Once the clientele was sorted, we started attracting new types of people and it all took off from there.”
The Camden Eye now grosses about $1.5 million a year. When she first took over the licence five years ago, the pub was taking in less than $400,000 annually.
Now the Eye offers a range of global food stylesas well as live music, theater, open mike comedy spots and even drawing classes in which nudes recline on bar tables.
Neghabian grew up in Mashhad before her family fled to Sweden in 1989. She learned English, excelled in math at school and initially wanted to become a banker. She came to the UK to study commerce at Birmingham University, where she discovered pub culture and then started working as a barmaid at the Oh! Bar in Camden.
She was recruited by the New Pub Company, which owns the Camden Eye, to turn that ailing business around.
“My parents weren’t happy about me running a pub because they don’t approve of alcohol, but I love the industry and it’s so much more than serving drinks,” she said.
“I love the fact that no day is the same, that it’s about engaging with the community, dealing with marketing and running a business. But I also like being behind the bar pulling pints [serving beer]—that’s part of the job.”
A spokeswoman for the British Institute of Innkeeping said: “Mahdis goes totally against the stereotype of a pub landlord and it’s fantastic for her, and also for the industry, that she has won the award this year.”