Ali, Sam and Cornfield team are one big happy family

Joint pub managers, and husband-and-wife team, Alpaslan (known as Ali) and Sam have nurtured a real family team at Cornfield Garage.

The couple, who married in 1994, met in Ali’s home country of Turkey when Sam, then 17 years old, went on holiday there with her mum.

Now, their daughter Emel, as well as members of their extended family, helps to make up the team at their pub on the south coast of England.

The couple can almost claim to have the sea in their blood. Brighton born Sam grew up on the south coast, while Ali, born in Istanbul, has also always lived by the sea.

Ali revealed: “All of my life, I have lived on the coast. Between the ages of 17 and 20, I was also an officer cadet in the Turkish Naval Academy, in Istanbul.

“After that, I began studying to teach English and met Sam during a summer holiday, when I was working in a summer resort in Turkey.”

Ali started his Wetherspoon career in 2002 as a shift manager at Cornfield Garage, having previously worked as a manager with a different pub company.

He had a six-month spell at The John Logie Baird in 2003, before spending 2004 at The Ounce & Ivy Bush and taking on his first pub-manager role in 2005 at The Samuel Peto.

Sam started as a bar associate in 2007, at Cornfield Garage, before joining the team at The Samuel Peto in 2008, working her way up to shift-manager level.

The pair moved to Cornfield Garage together in 2009.

Ali and Sam’s eldest daughter, Alice, now 30, joined them in 2011 as a 16-year-old floor associate, progressing to shift-manager level before moving on to a different career.

However, daughter Emel, 27, has been kitchen manager at Cornfield Garage for the past two and a half years, having also joined the company originally in 2014 as a 16-year-old floor associate.

Ali reported: “Emel’s Portuguese fiancé, Igor, also started with us in 2021 as a bar associate and is now a shift manager.

“Igor’s parents are part of our team too, having both joined us last year. His father, Nelio, is our maintenance associate, while his mother, Ana, is a floor team leader.”

Ali added: “My son-in-law, Reece, who is Alice’s husband, also works for the company as a shift manager at The Picture Playhouse.

“Sam’s sister and mother, Tracey and Rita, have also worked at Cornfield Garage in the past, but are no longer with the company.”

The couple also has two other daughters, Emira and Ayla.

Ali said: “Kitchen shift leader David has worked with us since 2004 and is also like a family member.

“I worked with David at East Grinstead and he moved with me to Folkstone, where he was my kitchen manager, and then Eastbourne, before stepping down to become a shift leader.”

When asked what has made Ali and his family stay with Wetherspoon for so long, he replied: “The best thing about the company is that everyone is reachable.

“You can speak to the management and directors whenever you need to.”

Ali concluded: “Our children have grown up in and around Wetherspoon pubs.

“The pubs have been our home, and we feel valued and appreciated.”