Athlone native Joy Fletcher runs award-winning pub in the Algarve

By Rebekah O'Reilly

Athlone native Joy Fletcher has been running her award-winning restaurant and pub, The Black Anchor, in the Algarve for almost 20 years ago.

Originally from Cloghanboy on the Ballymahon Road in Athlone, Joy was born to her parents David and Bernie Fletcher, owners of Fletchers grocery shop in Castlemaine Street, Davys Bar in Irishtown and later Fletcher Transport.

She went to secondary school locally in the Our Lady's Bower secondary school, graduating in 1986.

After holidaying in the sunny town of Tavira since 1998, Joy and her husband, Wexford native Vinny Kennedy, decided to make the move to the Algarve in 2006 with their three children Allie, Cora, and Adam.

The couple tried their hand at the restaurant business following their move - and the restaurant has been a staple in the town ever since.

"We're based in a town called Tavira - it's a really lovely town about the size of Athlone," Joy said. "We decided to give the restaurant a go in 2007, and we added the pub on a year later.

"The opportunity arose with this fabulous building overlooking the River Gilao. It was a risky move and not without its difficulties. We initially said we would give it a go for five years, and eighteen years later we are still here."

Joy and Vinny have raised their family in the idyllic Portuguese town, noting that their children, as well as nieces and nephews, have been working in the family-run business every summer since it first opened.

"At the moment our son is here, and our daughters have worked here over the years. We've always had nieces and nephews coming over from Athlone to work for the summer. It is a real family run business, and we've kept it that way."

The fishing town of Tavira is located only half hour from Faro Airport and less than an hour to Spain - making is a perfect location for family and their visitors.

When asked whether she ever misses home, Joy said home is never too far thanks to returning customers coming from her home town.

"We have a lot of people from Athlone who come to pay us a visit," Joy said. "They keep coming back - so we must be doing something right!

"Our customers include a lot of expats and locals, and we are starting to get more American tourists - although it's not a very touristy area."

The couple own a family home in her native Athlone, and come home as frequently as their busy schedule allows - with their daughter Allie living in Athlone full time.

"We work seven days a week - in the busier months we can't get away," Joy said. "My mother still lives in Athlone. She's 87, so it's nice to get home to see her."

The pub and restaurant - renowned by locals as "the only real Irish pub outside of Ireland" - recently received three awards at the Algarve Business Awards 2024, which was a major show of support from the local community.

These included a the Taste Award for their fabulous food, as well as two entertainment awards.

Joy said: "We won the awards in November - and it was a lovely surprise! It was really nice to see the support of the locals. We're very happy here in the East Algarve.

"It has had it's different difficulties over the years, especially during Covid, but we've overcome a lot of challenges - and we're still here."

For more information on The Black Anchor, go to: https://blackanchortavira.com/