East & West Midlands

Holly Bush

Church Broughton, Derbyshire

Subtly changing the offer to attract new customers without alienating the existing solid support from the villagers of Church Broughton was the challenge that faced Matthew and Jannine Clarke at the Holly Bush.

It was a task that the Union Pub

Company tenants relished when they took

the helm two years ago. Since then, Jannine

and Matthew have grown the business by 20% year-on-year.

Taking it gradually

The former golf club stewards resisted the temptation to change everything overnight.

Matthew says: "The refurbishment of the kitchen was the first priority and then, in a conscious effort not to alienate the existing food customers, we devised a core menu with greater emphasis on fresh ingredients and homemade dishes."

The couple's aim was to attract a wider age range of customer, not just the older clientele that had previously been the mainstay of the business.

Wider choice and more ales

Matthew explains: "We developed the specials board with ethnic dishes, organic locally-reared meats, game and fresh seafood.

"The other big change was to improve beer quality and introduce more cask ales. We even supply beers in two-pint containers for customers to take away."

The couple also wanted the Holly Bush to play a full part in local community affairs. It now serves as a box office for the village pantomime, and provides toilet facilities and bunting for the Music in the Park and May Day events.

Introducing a quiz and curry night on

Sundays has turned a slack trading time into one of the busiest nights of the week.

The pumpkin challenge

Another innovation last year was the fiercely contested pumpkin competition, which helped raise money for the local school.

Matthew and Jannine actually sold seedlings to customers to grow their own vegetables and the winning squash weighed

10st 9lbs.

The competition is now an annual event as is the Big C party in which customers had to wear something beginning with C to raise money for Cancer Research.