HOW do you continue to operate a successful bar when you can’t actually open?

Four servicemen at RAF Brize Norton think they have the answer.

Grapes and Tomatoes in Carterton is the brainchild of Jimmy O’Brien and Dylan Bartle.

Together with Steve Forster and Wayne Carter, the group run the Alvescot Road bar, and are keeping the watering hole’s early success going.

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Mr O’Brien said: “When we knew we had to close, we sat down and created a plan to keep people entertained.

“We’ve had all sorts on the go, one of the things that has been popular has been cocktail making classes where we post the ingredients online in the morning and then people can make them in the evening.

“Also, one of our staff is a dance teacher so she’s been teaching dance moves which people can hopefully use in the bar when we reopen.

“The absolute winner is the Friday night quiz on Facebook, which lasts about two and a half hours.”

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Mr O’Brien said that up to 380 people play worldwide, with people joining in from Dubai, America and Cyprus.

“The regulars have spread the word and online it’s growing and growing,” Mr O’Brien added.

Further entertainment has come through live DJ sets, including from Mr Forster, who is currently in California.

The parachute jump instructors have between them almost 100 years of experience in the RAF.

It is in the force that they met, as Mr O’Brien explained.

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“Myself and Dylan had the idea of the bar,” he said.

“We actually joined the RAF on the same day in April 2000 and became best mates.

“We often discussed what it would be like to own a bar and what sort of things we’d do.

“The bar is something for the community to enjoy - something we thought that the town was missing.

“We wanted a place that was a little bit different and to bring a city vibe.

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“It’s been really nice, there’s a great family feeling to the place.

“We pride ourselves on our entertainment - the live music, live DJ sets, painting nights and even rock ‘n’ roll bingo.

“Entertainment is key and that’s why we’ve pushed it, and to try and keep a smile on people’s faces.

“It’s what we dreamed of, and more.”

Prior to the lockdown, the bar had been nominated for the New Business Award at the West Oxfordshire Business Awards, something that Mr O’Brien said the group were ‘really privileged to be recognised for.’

For now, the group are just enjoying running their virtual bar.