What does a silver-medal winning shooting Paralympian from Slovenia have in common with Fleetwood Mac?

Newham Recorder: Jan Dooner with Slovenian paralympian Gorazd Tiraek.Jan Dooner with Slovenian paralympian Gorazd Tiraek. (Image: Archant)

Probably a lot of things, but one location that does connect the rock veterans with Fran?ek Gorazd Tiršek is a family-run Stratford pub and hotel.

Landlady Jan Dooner was only 11 when her parents took over The Railway Tavern, in Angel Lane, where ‘the Mac’ performed at the inn’s Bottleneck Blues club night, with Stratford a far-cry from the global hub it is today.

But as the area’s landscape changed over the year, so the pub adapted to suit and added their nine-room hotel to the tavern in 2005 – just as London was announced as host city for the 2012 Olympics.

The Games proved to be a winning formula for Jan, with a sound-system company who helped kit out the stadium booking out rooms from May until September.

Thanks to her tenants, she became one of first people in the world to see Danny Boyle’s iconic opening ceremony show through an exclusive rehearsal screening.

“It was amazing, but they swore me to secrecy so I couldn’t share it with anyone, which was really hard,” she added.

“It did surprise us initially how many people do like to stay in a small hotel above a pub, when you’ve got the massive ones just up the road, but I think it’s just that more homely here.”

Developing it from a “traditional boozer” to a “place for families and friends”, the hotel was awarded a Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence last year, and is still riding the Olympic wave.

“During that time all the roads were shut so we’d often have people’s from the athletes village stopping by, whether it be volunteers or any of the hundreds of people involved in the athletes entourages.

“It was just a truly fantastic time, and even now we get groups of people who were involved in the Games meeting up every year.”

For more information visit railwaytavernhotel.co.uk

Each week we’ll be profiling some of the businesses that have made an impact to Newham.

To get yours profiled email mark.shales@archant.co.uk or call 020 8477 3824