The publican behind the Prince of Peckham has been made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his services to business and the hospitality industry.
Clement Ogbonnaya, the landlord behind the enormously popular Prince of Peckham on Clayton Road which opened in 2017, has been recognised in the King’s New Year’s Honours List for his outstanding contribution to the local community.
In a video posted to his Instagram, Clement said he was “mad grateful and mad proud” to receive the honour.
Clement said that when he first received the letter, he and his wife were so surprised that they initially thought it was a “joke”.
“I’m at home, and this letter comes through the post and it says ‘His Majesty’s Service’.
“And I’m thinking, am I being drafted into the army? I’m like 44 years old. Why am I being drafted into the army?
“So I give it to my wife, she opens it and it says: ‘We’d like to award you an MBE.’ And my wife thinks it’s a joke. I think it’s a joke, but it’s not.”
He added: “Just little old me from ends who just has a pub.. I’m just mad grateful and I’m mad proud.
“These sorts of things are a catalyst to do more, a catalyst for more change, a catalyst for more impetus. Be the change in the world you want to see.
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“I’ve always said the Prince of Peckham was a small slice of an ecosystem that I wanna exist in.
“And if I can get an MBE by creating this… Take care of your community and the rest will take care of itself and that is what it is all about.”
Clement sees his pubs as about more than just booze. He aims to create an events-led space with activities programmed for every day of the week giving local creatives a chance to showcase their talent.
They run traditional pub activities like quizzes and comedy shows but have also been keen to put on art exhibitions, dance performances, wellbeing classes and panel discussions.
The Prince of Peckham is also one of just a few public houses in Southwark which is used as a warm hub for those struggling to pay their energy bills.
During the pandemic in 2020 they gave out a free daily drink to NHS staff for a year to say thank you after the first lockdown ended in July 2020.
Sadly Clement’s second pub in Tulse Hill which he opened in 2023 building on the success of Prince of Peckham was recently forced to close after he was unable to raise the funds to buy back the freehold which was purchased by Young’s Pubs in the summer.
Clement also said rising business rates and staff costs had led him to make the decision to close the Queen of the South.
He previously said he hoped to expand his pub empire telling us in 2023 that his goal was to build five pubs in as many years starting with Tulse Hill.
