'It means everything': Mad O'Rourke's Pie Factory owner reflects on Black Country life, legacy and great pies

A visit to Mad O'Rourke's is like taking a step into the past, with sawdust on the floors and plenty of Black Country memorabilia on the wall, as well as a warm welcome from the staff and a wide selection of pies and other Black Country delicacies, plus its own trademarked beer in Lumphammer.

Now, after 25 years of running Mad O'Rourke's and turning it into a vibrant and popular place to eat and drink and a must-see stopping point for tourists, Mr Towler has made the decision to put the restaurant and pub up for sale.

He said there were a number of reasons for the planned sale, with a planned retirement and a desire to lessen the pressure on his shoulders among the main ones, but was keen to point out that contrary to online rumours that the plan was not to change what the place did, nor see it demolished for housing.

He said: "The main reason is that I don't work full time any more, which I had done for many years, and there's also health reasons, as I had a mini-stroke about three years ago, then there's the pressure of having 35 staff depending on you day to day.

"This pub has never been so popular as it is right now, with all the ups and downs, and this is still exceptionally busy, so I've got to think about my age, being 66.

"It's just the pressure of running a business, but on top of that, if people come along and are interested in the business, it doesn't necessarily mean I'll sell to them because we're not in the need of desperation, so if it doesn't suit us and the staff, then we won't sell it.

"I also think it would be suicidal business-wise for someone to turn this into a Desi pub or knock it down and build houses because the business makes so much money in comparison to what the land cost is as in Tipton, the land cost is a lot lower than what the value of the building is."

Mr Towler, who is originally from Wales, said he started at Mad O'Rourke's in 1992 as a manager, having met Sheena O'Rourke on the QE2 when he was working as a waiter and said that meeting helped to change the course of his life, a course which led to him buying the restaurant in 2000.

He said: "I had family in Birmingham, so I always wanted to come to Birmingham, and she offered me a job, so I started here as a manager 33 years ago, living upstairs.

"When Sheena and Colm O'Rourke decided to sell up, they sold up to Usher's of Trowbridge and they were in charge for a year, but I then purchased it in August 2000.

"It's the only one out of the little pub companies which was the O'Rourke's pub chain which made it famous in every aspect as it was synonymous to the chain and to the area."

Mad O'Rourke's is regularly praised for the quality of its food, from the 15 different pies on offer to the battered chips, and Mr Towler said his focus has always been on producing the best food.

He said: "I've always been food-led, whereas Colm O'Rourke was more about the beer side, and my background is that I'm a qualified baker, as was my father.

"My background is also about high level food, so it was more a case of getting the food better and putting it to a different level and we virtually make everything in-house and go through more than a tonne of potatoes a week.

"We batter the chips, which is synonymous with the Black Country, and we've used the same butcher for nearly 15 years, so we make it all about the quality."

Mad O'Rourke's has been a survivor since it first opened in 1987, overcoming the 2008 global financial crisis which affected so many businesses in the region, with Mr Towler saying that the strong links to the Black Country and the community were what kept it going.

He said: "It was terribly painful, although it was very much more the other two places in Wordsley and Gornal, which didn't work because of the crisis, but also because they were too close to here, so we could save this one, but not the other two.

"It teaches you a lesson and makes you think strongly about how things go and it was a good few years ago, but this place has become stronger and stronger.

"I remember my first day here when Desperate Dawn was the chef and you couldn't understand a word anyone was saying, but that's the beauty of the Black Country as they're so loyal.

"We've had Sharon, one of our head chefs, here for 23 years, and the managers have been here for huge amounts of times, like Kelly, who puts down the sawdust and has been here since she was 17."

Mr Towler said that while he was looking to sell, it wasn't the be-all-and-end-all for him, saying that he felt the right person would need to be someone who could manage a big business, and said that even when it's sold and he can begin retirement, he'll still be around to offer advice.

He said: "Retirement for me will mean playing a bit of golf, but as I'm only doing four to five hours a week anyway, it's not going to make a big difference, so I'm around to be a sounding board for management as my knowledge of the industry is very big.

"If people are talking about my legacy then, hopefully, it'll be the quality of the food as I've changed it quite dramatically, plus I've put all the bedrooms in upstairs, five en-suites and five nearly-en-suites, which makes everyone laugh, and which are full virtually 80 per cent of the time.

"It's a place which have given me everything and means everything to me and it's quite emotional to think of what I've done here."