Farmer's charms
They had been out of the business for years, took on a busy tenancy and said from day one that all public areas were non-smoking Bob Gledhill reports from a pub where this high-risk strategy is delivering large profits When two friends who have been out of the pub business for 13 years decide to take on a rural tenancy where the local reputation of the pub is at best described as "mixed response", then status quo or radical change is a rock and a hard place. For Paul Innman and Martin Currell the Scottish & Newcastle tenancy at the Farmers Arms in the sleepy west Lancashire village of Bispham was definitely in for a radical change. The food operation was healthy with a turnover of £300,000 when S&N bought the pub from Burtonwood two years ago. To compete in today's pub-food market, however, it needed heavy investment. S&N spent £300,000 on a refurbishment and put the tenancy on the market. While the bar areas and exterior had money spent on them, the extensive dining area received the bulk of the investment. For Innman and Currell it's been a management whirlwind. They had not even seen the pub before last December. They signed and took over at the end of December and have had just four months of trading. Both business partners are committed to good food and, as it's a tenancy they are running, have complete control over the menu. Innman explains their food operation business plan: "We wanted to offer quality food with locally-sourced fresh ingredients and at a price that would encourage lots of repeat business. "We are not on the tourist route and will never get much business [from] entertaining or functions. We could do weddings on a Saturday, but then we [would have to] close the restaurant and annoy regular customers. "Our customer base is the older market, families and young couples. They all want to feel they have got value for money from their meal." When there is a price pressure on the menu there is the temptation to go the convenience food route. Currell, who is one of the three chefs who run the kitchen, thinks that while there will always be an element of frozen and convenience on a pub menu, the flavour and spontaneity that come from using a high proportion of fresh ingredients will always give them a competitive edge over other pubs in the area. A sense of theatre in some of the ways the food is presented at the table to customers has won a lot of repeat restaurant business. The partners and their wives have been frequent travellers and they have introduced some of the food presentations customers will have seen on holiday. Instead of mixed meat kebabs being presented on skewers laid flat on the plate, they had a set of wooden hanging gantry units made, typical of food presentation in Spain. The meat skewers are still cooked on the gas-fired barbecue grill, but delivered to the tables hanging upright for customers to pull off the pieces of meat. Another restaurant theatre idea they have introduced is serving some main-course dishes in covered copper pans. This is an idea they picked up on ski-ing holidays in the Alps, where it is the usual form of presentation for traditional après-ski dishes such as Tyroller grostle a mix ofgammon, potatoes, onion and a fried egg. As with the hanging kebabs, the pan-service food is cooked conventionally, then put into the copper pans for service. All the side dishes are presented around the copper pan with the intention that the pan is used as the plate. Innman says clever presentation ideas like this boost sales and make the meal more of an occasion. Customers see other diners eating from a novel presentation and want the same. The children's menu stays mainstream with standard favourites, but to encourage families, a main and dessert from the children's menu is £2.95. Almost as a joke, broccoli was added to the vegetable choice with the expletive "Yuk!" after it. Innman says that has been one of the big shocks of the menu: "Kids order it all the time. Because we say broccoli is yuk they want it." The busiest time for the food operation is the Sunday carvery (£7.95 adults, £4.95 children). It runs from 12.30pm through to 8.30pm, with Currell carving as much meat as customers want, and the invitation to take as many vegetables as the plate can hold. The late finish to the carvery makes good business sense, says Innman: "Most pub carveries are finished by 6.30pm. But that is when some people want to go out and eat." The location of the Farmers Arms is good in the sense that within a half-hour drive are Preston, Bolton, Wigan and Southport. Property prices are high and there is a good disposable spend, but those economic positives work against recruitment of good staff. Innman says that people applying for front-of-house staff jobs tend to be 16 to 17-year-olds and that can fit uncomfortably with a customer base that is on the grey side. "We would love to recruit some older local people for part-time work, but they're just not there." Innman earned his training in pub management, through Whitbread and Beefeater, and Currell trained as a chef before going into pub management. To be out of the business for 13 years and then take on a new-beginning tenancy might be viewed as risky. Yet everyone from S&N to business advisers maintained from the outset that the pair were misguided to say the Farmers Arms would be non-smoking. Says Innman: "We were told by everyone that it was a bad business idea and that we would soon change our minds. We haven't, and the business is growing. You can come in the bar or the restaurant on a Saturday night and the air is clear. We have had a few bad moments, some bad language, but the huge majority of the customers appreciate it. We think we are getting customers into the pub and the restaurant who would have thought twice about coming into a smoky pub." Facts and figures Address: Farmers Arms, Bispham, Lancashire Status: Tenancy from Scottish & Newcastle Tenants: Paul Innman and Martin Currell Food to wet sales percentages: 70:30 Food sales since opening at the end of December: £28,000 per month Food sales growth: 10% per month since opening GP on food: 68% in restaurant, 55% in bar Seating: 150 in restaurant, 50 in bar Menu selection Hot Southport potted shrimps with chilli sauce and garlic bread £4.65 Pork souvlaki with yoghurt and cucumber dip £3.25 Roast poussin with onions, mushrooms and bacon in rich gravy £10.95 Seafood skewer £11.95 Tyroller grostle £7.95 Choice of desserts £3.45
