Best bib and tucker

As Carl and Lisa Butler tell Ewan Turney, consistently high-quality local food and beer has helped treble sales at the Hatton Arms in Gretton, Northamptonshire

How I got here

My wife Lisa and I took over the pub in July 2004 when it was a male-dominated, rundown backstreet boozer. In fact, it was a virtual wreck. This is our first pub and has been my local for the 10 years we've lived in the village.

Before taking over the pub, I was an IT project manager and Lisa was a teacher, so we really did plunge into a new way of life.

I had worked in pubs when I was a student and loved real ales, but that was about the limit of our experience. I liked the fact that running a pub is a complete business - you are involved in everything from customer relations, operations and ordering to entertainment, food and drink and the overall progression of the business.

There were two challenges when we arrived - a complete refurbishment and launching a new business. It took us 18 months and cost £210,000 to turn the Hatton into the type of place we wanted. The venue was gutted, rewired, replumbed and refurbished.

My beer

We have become known for the quality of our real ales. We are the local brewery tap for Great Oakley ales in Corby and always feature one of their brews, usually Wots Occurring, which is a lovely, hoppy session beer. We also take customers on brewery tours of the micro brewery. We have up to six ales on at any time, but the emphasis is on quality, so the number depends on demand. We aim to turn around a barrel within a three-day target. We usually also have a real cider such as those available from Rockingham Forest in nearby Middleton.

Although we are a freehouse, Marston's has been fantastic. I said: "I want your best man to come out and show me how to get the best pint of Marston's." So they sent the guy from the brewery tap to come and show us, while we watched closely and asked questions. It gave us a lot of confidence. The main thing is not to rush the beer, but give it time to settle and condition when it arrives.

My food

We have just been presented with a Heartbeat award by the mayor of Corby in recognition of our freshly-prepared food and healthy eating options. We produce the menu monthly and our aim is to serve good-quality, fresh food. Our dishes use mainly British ingredients, simply and properly cooked, with a unique twist. Our home-made desserts are popular, as is our platter of British cheeses served with rustic bread, grapes and celery.

We also do themed nights such as an Italian night with music and matching food. We are planning to do an Indian-themed night and will get a chef in from the local curry house. It will be a great local business link-up. The themed nights are on a Friday and pull in people who wouldn't usually come.

My marketing strategy

1. Newsletter: We send out a newsletter once a month to let people know what is going on at the Hatton. We collect email addresses because that's the easiest way to do it. We try to do one or two events a month.

2. Website: I produced the website myself, but as it's never going to attract a lot of people, I do it on a shoestring budget. It may be surprising for someone with my background to say that, but because of our isolated location, it doesn't have much impact. A website is another string to our bow, but is nowhere near as important as good products, good service and good value.

3. Advertising: We use the local village magazine to advertise, but mostly benefit from word of mouth. We have also done leaflet drops in the local area. The big challenge is getting people to know that we're here because we are so tucked away.

4. Guide books: We were delighted to be included in Camra's Good Beer Guide this year. It's a great accolade for our real ales. The guide has helped enormously and you do see people walking in with the book under one arm. We hope to get into more guide books and are awaiting AA inspection. It's important to secure that recognition for the sort of place we want to be.

My function room

We have also refurbished the function room and are starting to take bookings for it. This is another revenue stream that adds flexibility to our business.

We have called it the Old Band Room, as the Gretton Silver Band used the room to practice until the 1950s. We can do private dining for up to 20 and a buffet for up to 40, plus business and board meetings. An amateur dramatics society uses it at the moment, too. It helps us make the best use of what room we have. The room is only £8 an hour to hire and the private dining menu £24.95 a head, including room hire and waitress service.

My local community

1. Local tradesmen: Throughout the refurbishment we used local people to carry out the work. By supporting local people, they in return support you.

2. Local suppliers: We use local suppliers for our food where we can. So, for example, we know the farm that provides all our pork.

3. History wall: With help from the local historical society, we put together a history board with photos. It is really interesting and fits in well with our philosophy of being a part of the community. Lots of people stop to read the articles and look at the pictures.

My plan to grow the business

1. Plan for the ban: Our next project will be to look ahead to the smoking ban. We plan to extend our outside decking and put up heating, lighting and maybe umbrellas or an awning. I'm not too concerned because we've developed our reputation on the quality of our food. I am confident that we can ride it pretty well.

2. Ideas: A pub is a constant challenge. You have to keep everything going and developing. We have plenty of ideas to progress, but the most important thing is that we consistently offer quality products, excellent service and good value for money.

My Pub

Turnover in 2003: £75,000

Turnover in 2006: £230,000

Wet/Dry split: 55%:45%

Wine sales: £20,000 a year

Barrelage: 200

Covers: 50 in restaurant

Meals per week: 200

GP food: 60%

GP beer: 60%

Staff: 12, three full-time

Awards: Camra HOP award