A week before England’s World Cup semifinal against Argentina on Wednesday, Debbie Sahay carried two flat-screen televisions out of her house and into The Queen’s Arms Pub. One came from her living room, the other came from her bedroom.
“This is my living room and my bedroom now,” Sahay said with a laugh, gesturing toward the TVs now mounted in the bistro side of the English pub.
Sahay and her husband took over the business in March, and she said the extra screens were less of an upgrade and more of a necessity.
As England advanced through the FIFA World Cup, crowds at The Queen’s Arms swelled to a size that left mere inches between patrons. Fans arrived hours before kickoff to claim tables, staff members were called in from out of town and every available television featured a bright green soccer pitch.
When Argentina scored an 86th-minute equalizer against England in the semifinal, groans echoed through the restaurant and spilled onto the street. Just days before, fans sang in booths and waved blow-up St. George flags to celebrate England’s win against Norway. For 90 minutes at a time, the quiet English pub in the small community of Haile is transformed into one of the loudest rooms in the Gainesville area.
With the influx of new customers, the pub required more support.
The Queen’s Arms scheduled all 15 of its staff members, converted food service to takeout containers to speed up orders, opened additional seating to watch the game and sectioned off a space specifically for ordering pints and special-edition meals.
Rebecca Williams, one of the pub’s partners and director of events, said the pub has been made special by the people of Gainesville.
“If we win, this place is going to lose their minds,” she said before kickoff. “They sing songs, they yell at the top of their lungs. It gives me goosebumps to think about because it’s unlike anything we have here.”
Despite the logistical challenges, Williams said the atmosphere during games has made every shift worthwhile.
For Sahay, who moved to Gainesville from Wrexham, North Wales, two years ago, the environment felt surprisingly familiar.
“Everybody was singing ‘Hey Jude’ and all the chants we do in the UK,” she said. “I sent the videos back home to my friends and they were like, ‘That could be any pub in our village.’... I was always worried that I’d miss the vibe [from back home], but the vibe here is better.”
The Queen’s Arms has been a fixture in the Haile community for decades. After moving to Gainesville from England, former co-owner Jenny Nanson helped transform the site into an authentic British pub, opening the business with longtime friends Jayne and Abbas Yazdi in 2009. Although Jayne Yazdi has since passed, Nanson credits her with the idea to focus on a British theme.
Sahay first met the previous owner while watching a European Championship final there and eventually began working behind the bar. When the opportunity to own the business opened earlier this year, she and her husband pounced on the opportunity with a goal in mind: to make it feel even more like home.
The menu now features imported British ingredients, including a Full Monty English breakfast, Welsh rarebit and traditional haddock fish and chips served with mushy peas. Shelves are stocked with British snacks, while Wrexham Lager — brewed in her hometown — has become one of the pub’s biggest sellers during the tournament. During England’s World Cup run, the lager sold roughly three times more than any draft beer, she said.
“For all those people that want to go to the UK and they can’t for whatever reason, they can come here and walk through the door and feel like they’re in a pub in London,” Sahay said.
On any given gameday, the pub hosts residents from all around the world. Many come from the UK themselves.
“I wanted to watch at a place where people are also invested in the game and care about it,” said Kiah Kramer, a University of Florida doctoral student from England.
The atmosphere has attracted more than just England fans, though. Some patrons have simply been searching for a place that felt authentic.
Jaime Zelaya, a local Gainesville resident and an Argentina fan, said he’s been coming to the pub for years.
“I’ve always wanted to watch a soccer match here … I came here for the England and Ghana game, and I was like, ‘I love this atmosphere’,” Zelaya said. “It’s a bit odd as an Argentina fan coming to an English pub, but … it was fantastic.”
For many regulars, the World Cup has simply magnified what already makes The Queen’s Arms special.
Kelly Anderson, Gainesville resident and local business owner of LAE Beauty Bar, has been coming to the pub for nearly 20 years.
She said the sense of community extends well beyond soccer. When one bartender had a baby, regulars and employees raised money to support her family. Anderson says she even met her boyfriend at the pub.
“Its become a family,” she said. “You don’t really have a lot of places like that where you walk in, and all the regulars come every day.”
Former owner Jenny Nanson still catches herself referring to the restaurant as “we”, even though she retired from the business years ago. This is her third World Cup she’s spent viewing from The Queen’s Arms.
“The atmosphere in England itself for the World Cup is unbelievable … the pub gives us…what we’re missing from home,” she said. “It’s now part of the community.”
As the World Cup winds down, Sahay hopes many first-time visitors continue to return. She has already started planning for the English Premier League season, when she’ll once again open early for morning kickoffs. But whether people come for soccer, the Haile Community Farmers Market or one of the restaurant's weekly tea parties, Sahay hopes visitors leave feeling like they found more than just a sports bar.
“I just want you to feel like you’re part of my family,” she said. “I call it The Queen’s Arms family. You’re coming through the door; you’re coming into my living room.”
Contact Lily Perkins @lperkins@alligator.org. Follow her on X @lily_perkins10.
Lily Perkins is a fourth-year journalism sports and media student in her first semester at The Alligator as a sports enterpise writer. In her free time she enjoys cooking, spending time with friends, and of course, watching sports.
