Back in action: The Renaissance of East Ham’s Social Club
When west ham united football club relocated across London from their traditional home at Upton park to the stadium originally built for the 2012 Olympics in Stratford, it led to the eventual closure of the popular East Ham Social Club. But after six years its door re-opened and now it is thriving again.
Long-term committee member and current manager of the venue. Paul Farrall was happy to provide the story:
“We’re only five minutes away from West Ham’s old stadium, it was hardly a surprise when they moved to Stratford that we soon started to struggle. So, when the opportunity to knock down the old club and then rebuild a new one on the ground floor with 42 flats above it came about, we thought that was a good way forward. We’ve now got a peppercorn rent and a long-term lease from the local council and since March 2025 we’ve been back in action.”
As a ‘Hammers’ support himself. It was inevitably the football link that led to Paul’s involvement in the club.
“I started drinking in here on football days over 20 years ago now, and I went from being a member to joining the committee. Then when the club was close to re-opening, I found myself in the role of secretary. At the same time, my job with the salvation Army has concluded, so I was available to take on the role of manager too.”
As the rebuild concluded, and with brilliant new facilities on the horizon, the venue required a drinks supplier who shared their vision of the future and who could be a partner in that success too.
“When we knew that the club would be reopening, we went back to our olc drink supplier, and to be honest, they didn’t seem very interested, they just wouldn’t give us any commitments, which wasn’t very helpful.
But when we spoke to Dave Williamson at Greene King, we got a totally different response. Greene King took us seriously right from the start. They came in and installed all new pumps and equipment, and the cellar service team have been brilliant in getting us set-up again. The variation of drinks is excellent, and we buy exclusively from them. The relationship is all going swimmingly.”
Paul has also been impressed with the proactive nature of the Greene King Free Trade team highlighting a typical example.
“When you look at the club from the outside it doesn’t look that big, but when you come in it’s like a Tardis, it’s massive.”
Recently, one of our bar managers had a phone call from the Greene King sales team. They noticed that we’d ordered something that we don’t normally get, and they asked if we meant to order it? They were right, we didn’t. We’d ordered a keg of Kopparberg, and we don’t have that on pump, it should have been cases instead. So that all got sorted and we got what we needed.”
Understandably, the rebuild of the property has seen a vast improvement in the facilities as well.
“With the old stage, you’d be lucky is you could get two people on it. Now we’ve got a much larger stage in the centre of the venue and we’re getting some decent bands in. When you look at the club from the outside it doesn’t look that big but when you come in it’s like a Tardis, it’s massive.”
Such has been the success of the club’s re-birth that it was shortlisted in two categories at the Club Awards in Leicester recently, where they managed to pick up the Community Heroes prize.
“During those six years when we were trying to keep the dream of re-opening the club alive, we weren’t thinking of winning any awards. So, to capture this prize is incredible recognition for all the challenges that we’ve faced it really does mean a lot.”
However, there is no time for complacency, and now Paul and the rest of the committee remain focused on encouraging customers to come back and enjoy this new version of the club.
“We’re putting on a lot of good quality entertainment now. And the cost of a pint is always important to a club of our nature. Now that people know we’re back open they have started coming back to us before and after West Ham games. They know that they’ll get good quality at decent prices here.”
The story of the East Ham Social Club’s renaissance is a triumph for persistence. And with continued hard work, they are now deservedly reaping the rewards.
Dave Williamson, Sales Development Manager for Greene King said of their relationship:
“From the first moment I met Paul and the East Ham Social Club committee, I was excited about the potential of their new venue offered. I knew that we could really help them on an operational level to get everything set-up in the right way and then by providing the best range of drinks for their customers too. Re-opening after six years of closure is an incredible story and I’ve been proud to be a part of it.”
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