Former men-only bar gets woman manager

El Vino, the legendary London wine bar that was successfully taken to court in 1982 for refusing to allow women to be served at the bar, has appointed the first female manager of its famous Fleet Street branch.

Kate Wonson, who was already working for the group as manager of its London Wall wine bar, moved on this week (3 September) to Fleet Street.

Wonson, 30, started with El Vino eight years ago as a trainee manager. She said that El Vino's old reputation was still alive to the extent that women still come in and ask if they are allowed to be there.

El Vino joint managing director Anthony Mitchell added: "It's true that people still talk about it, but that was a long time ago. It was also part of a culture that was designed to protect women, not to discriminate against them. If a lady came into the bar in those days and could not find a seat then a man was asked to give one up."

Wonson's appointment comes at a time of major changes for El Vino. Anthony Mitchell, together with his brother and father, recently bought out the other half of the Mitchell family to take control of the group. The Mitchell family are the direct descendants of Alfred Bower, who founded El Vino in 1879. The buyout cost more than £7m and was financed by the sale and leaseback of the Fleet Street and Martin Lane branches.

by David Harris