MOON UNDER WATER

Matt Kamstra – Moon Under Water’s Publican

After managing pubs in New Zealand, Ireland, England and Scotland, the next logical step was to take the plunge and open up my own place. I fell in love with the function of the pub as a centre of community, not just somewhere to drink – Going to a (good) pub was like going to the publican’s house, who is one of your friends and looks after you and your mates. The name itself comes from an essay by George Orwell, “The Moon Under Water”, wherein he talks about what makes his ‘perfect pub’. We can’t pretend to be perfect, but I always felt that the essay captures the heart of your typical local pub in countries like the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands that I wanted to evoke, without being a “theme” pub. I wanted the Moon to be somewhere where everyone was comfortable and felt at home, whether they are here by themselves, with their family or friends. It’s been amazing how people have responded to that and taken it to heart – it really is a community focal point and that’s not just down to me or our staff, but every regular who loves it like their own.