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However you’re spending Valentine’s Day this year, this tale of university romance turned restaurant success will bring a bit of happiness to your day.

Charly Mayo and Mark Hogarth met during their first-ever lecture in BA (Hons) Hospitality Management with Tourism. They bonded over living in Harry Law Halls and not knowing their way around С����Ƶ. They became inseparable throughout their degree, even sharing a placement abroad in Malta in their third year.

In 2018, they decided to take the leap and open their own restaurant, ‘’ a beloved nickname combining their names given to them during university.

Tell us how your relationship developed at UoP.

In the first few weeks, our lecturer told us how every year without fail, a couple of students from the course get married after they graduate. It was so awkward because everyone looked right at us. We just got on so well. It was still very early days, but clearly, there were hidden crushes at that point that everyone else saw and we didn’t even realise ourselves yet.

That was in 2011, so 13 years ago. The rest is pretty much history. We lived together with friends in our second year, and then in our third year moved to Malta to work in a hotel as part of our sandwich degree work experience. We had the time of our lives!

We then graduated in 2015. We credit our restaurant today for this story and meeting at UoP. We’ve even got our certificates framed on the wall in the restaurant!

When did you decide to set up the restaurant?  

We moved around the South of England as Mark had enrolled in a graduate management programme working for a prestigious hotel group. After that, we began running a pub and inn. After a period of 70+ hour weeks, we said to each other ‘Why don’t we do this for ourselves?’ – then we quit!

We went hunting for our own premises in the small seaside town, Folkestone, with only one paycheck left. We couldn’t get a business loan, so with no other support available, we got a personal loan and opened Marleys later that year. We had a shoestring budget and worked 80+ hours. We didn’t pay ourselves for the first two years. 

Fast forward to today, we celebrated our sixth birthday and our first anniversary in our new premises after we outgrew our old location - this was definitely a career highlight for us both. We also have 32+ members of staff working for us. 

Tell us about the thought process behind the name “Marleys”. 

The restaurant is named Marleys after us – ‘Mark’ and ‘Charly’ – and we credit that to our friends we lived with in the fourth year. They gave us a joint nickname as we lived, worked and studied together and had all the same friends. We were inseparable from day one. We were [and still are] basically the same person! 

We said if we ever opened a business together, it would be easy to name.

What do you enjoy most about running the restaurant day-to-day? 

It’s our passion. We love food, eating out and working for ourselves. 

We’re so used to working as a team. People say ‘You must be at each other’s throats’ or ‘I’d hate to work with my partner, I could never’. We promise it’s so the opposite. We met and grew together at uni, and worked together in countless jobs before this – it’s just how we work best. We’d struggle to be apart at this point! 

We probably compartmentalise the two areas of our lives very well, and we balance each other out perfectly. Within the business, we have our own strengths, and our skills go hand-in-hand. 

What future goals do you have for the restaurant?

Keep on growing! And hopefully, be able to take a step back and reap the benefits. We’re focused on growth first. We’d love to live abroad one day again for a short time. We’ll see!

What would you say are the ingredients to the perfect Valentine’s Day?

Being together. Simple as that. Just you two, no faff. 

Considering restaurants usually lap up this day, we don’t always personally ‘buy into’ celebrating it bang on the 14 February. You should do date nights and enjoy each other’s company all year round. Do those small thoughtful things when you think of them, don’t save them for one day of the year… Maybe that’s one of our biggest secrets as a couple who work so well together 24/7!? 

What’s the best dish to serve for a Valentine's Day Celebration?

Strawberry and Champagne Risotto. Savoury with a touch of sweetness from the fresh strawberries, but you’ve got to chuck loads of fresh parmesan in there to make it creamy, rich and indulgent!