QUIQUE BECOMES BOSS AFTER BUMPY BEGINNING TO UK LIFE

Quique escaped the economic crisis in Spain in 2012, moving to England for a job promised to him by a UK holidaymaker in Spain.

Assured that there would be a job, he arrived in Bournemouth in October of that year with his pregnant girlfriend Rocio.

But constant delays meant that Quique had to look for employment elsewhere.

In late November, he discovered that The Moon in the Square (Bournemouth) was having a recruitment open day.

Following a chat with pub manager Terri, he was offered a trial shift. 

Quique said: “I was just asked to collect glasses on a Friday night, but, within an hour, I was helping to run the top floor of the pub.”

He started work the following Monday as a bar associate and has been at the pub ever since, rising to the role of pub manager.

Quique concentrated on improving his very limited English and covered as many different types of shift as he could to improve his skills and his knowledge of the pub.

The couple’s first child, Liam, was born in May 2013, with Quique promoted to shift leader the following month.

The couple’s second child, Owen, was born in November 2016, with their third, Connor, arriving in December 2018. All three are bilingual.

Rocio and Quique were married in March 2019. In November 2021 Rocio started working at the pub and is now a team leader.

Quique added: “A lot of the other managers left in a short space of time, so I found myself the longest-serving management team member, apart from Terri.

“The Moon in the Square is a big pub with a lot of staff, so you need to know it very well to run it – and that period was a learning curve for me.”

In May 2022, Terri asked for a sabbatical and, by May 2023, had decided not to return to the business.

Quique was appointed as the pub’s manager in May 2023, having acted as holding manager during Terri’s absence.

He said: “I really love the pub and wanted to be its manager when the opportunity arose. “My life has changed completely in the last 10 years – and this is thanks to Wetherspoon and particularly Terri.

“Terri was such a legend, such a kind person and I learned everything from her.”