Marching to success

Former army chef Chris Wittwer tells Ewan Turney how he and wife Alison used their bright ideas to increase sales by almost £100,000 at the Royal Oak in Exminster, Devon

How I got here

I worked as a chef in the army for seven years and spent time in Kenya, Canada, Bosnia, Germany and Northern Ireland, where I completed three tours. There was a lot I learnt from my role as I was menu planning, ordering and cooking for about 120 soldiers a day. It was a good grounding for running a pub. I left the army in 2002 and began working for TNT logistics when I met my wife, Alison. We used to go out for drinks and food, and were quite critical of venues. We would always talk about what we would do better. It was natural for us to discuss how we would get more people into a place and what entertainment we would provide. We had the ideas, so we decided to get a pub. It was a big risk because we sold our flat and took out a loan.

How we chose the right pub

Choosing a pub was difficult but we did our market research. We decided to go with Punch because they were a large, established and safe pubco. We found that Exminster is an up and coming area, with 1,500 new homes springing up. The Royal Oak is a community-based local but was cliquey so it was not trading well. There was a group of 20 to 30 locals and no music, entertainment and no welcoming atmosphere. It was one of those pubs that you would walk into and everyone would stare. A pub must be alive and vibrant, and we could see the potential. We knew we had to attract the professional classes living nearby and commuting into Exeter.

How I transformed the pub

1. Enthusiasm: Pubs are like any other business, requiring continual effort and fresh ideas to drive things forward every day. We are always looking at new ideas to improve trade.

2. Hard work: In the first six months, it was just the two of us. We were doing the cleaning, gardening, cooking, serving and clocking up 100 hours each a week. But if you work hard the rewards follow.

3. Welcome: One of the first things we did was to make people feel welcome. We cleaned the venue as it stank of ale and fags. We polished everything, put in new lighting at the bar and made the place feel friendly. When someone came in we would chat to them. Nine times out of 10 if you make people feel welcome and the environment is warm and friendly they will come back.

4. Entertainment package: We have two football teams, six skittles teams, two darts and three pool teams, not to mention live music and other entertainment nights, so there is something happening every day of the week.

My food operation

The food has been a real challenge as the kitchen is small. I can only lay down five plates at a time and there is no oven. Our BRM said that we would only be able to sell £150 to £200 worth of food a week, but so far we are up to £1,200 a week.

We do traditional pub grub such as steaks, scampi, burgers, gammon, jacket potatoes and baguettes. I get stressed and its a challenge serving a table of eight all hot meals at the same time, but its about attention to detail and planning. We also do a take-away service, which has taken off because there is nothing similar available locally. We are constantly trying to tap into new markets.

My best events

Two of the best nights we do are the men's night and the women's night. On the men's night we had two comedians and a race night on our 50-inch plasma screen. The comedians cost £250 each and the race night £150. We sell tickets for £10 to recoup our costs. As long as you get your outlay back in tickets, you will retrieve a lot more in drink sales. Alison also held a women's night with strippers and a hypnotist which was a roaring success.

My music nights

We are really getting into our live music. The first step again was to undertake some market research and find out what the locals wanted. We now have music every few weeks. We feature young, up-and-coming bands, and are gaining a good reputation. As I said, it is important for a pub to be alive and it definitely is when live music is being performed. Before we arrived people would have a drink and leave, but now they stay.

The best way to market these events is through word-of-mouth but we also place adverts in the local paper and distribute 1,700 flyers. It only costs us £40 for the flyers through Punch.

My staff

We have a laugh with our staff and they all treat the business as their own. They are willing to go the extra mile. We choose the right people, but we also treat them fairly. We pay them £6 an hour, which is above the minimum wage, and are flexible with shift swapping and days off. It is a good environment to work in and everyone enjoys themselves. If the customers see you enjoying yourself, it transmits across the bar.

My plans for the future

We are having an £80,000 refit in January which is our quietest month.

It will take a few weeks, and in conjunction with Punch, we will be re-conditioning the bar, landscaping the beer garden to include a decking area, which will help prepare us for the smoking ban, painting inside and out and modifying the kitchen, so there is more space. We will also be investing in new furniture.

We hope to stay here for four or five years and then hopefully buy a freehold pub if we have made enough money here and the bank is nice.

My Pub

Lease: Punch Taverns

Turnover in 2004: £150,000

Turnover now: £240,000

Wet:Dry split: 70%:30%

GP on food: 60%

GP on beer: 52%

Staff: Four bar staff, cleaner and gardener, all part-time

Ales on tap: Old Speckled Hen, Otter, Black Sheep

Price of a pint: Otter £2.25, Carling £2.50