East & West Midlands
Melissa Price
Tilted Wig, Warwick
Pub lessee Melissa Price has come a long way in a short time. About 18 months ago, she was happily carrying out duties as food and beverage manager for one of Millennium and Copthorne Hotels' biggest venues.
Now she leases three pubs and owns a Thai restaurant. "The opportunities existed and I went for them with the help and support of my partner, Mark Benton," she says.
Doubling trade
Trade has doubled at the Tilted Wig since Melissa entered the industry and took on the lease of the Punch Taverns-owned pub in April 2005.
She says: "I knew the pub well, but its drinkers missed out on the town-centre circuit. It was in a great location, but was
under-utilised, with massive potential."
A team of 25 contractors gutted the place and after an intensive three-day round-the- clock revamp, it had a fresh contemporary look. The interior contains artefacts such as a pair of wooden feet hanging from the ceiling, wooden chairs in the shape of hands, and hand-made tables with glass tops through which customers can read the menu or the sports pages from the day's newspapers.
Quirky touches
Most of the handiwork is down to Mark, whose influence is behind the tiered wooden seating in one part of the pub, which provides the perfect location to watch football on a plasma screen. During the World Cup, a mini-stadium was erected behind the pub, allowing 150 ticket-holding customers to watch the big game.
"We're famous for our quirky touches. We have our own beer called Tilted Pig, brewed by the local Slaughterhouse Brewery, and we even serve our wine in a wooden box,"
says Melissa.
Building on success
The success of the venture has allowed Melissa to take on further leases with Punch at the Newbold in nearby Leamington Spa and the Halford Bridge near Stratford-upon-Avon - like the Tilted Wig, the Halford Bridge boasts letting rooms. The fourth venue is the re-named Thai Twig, a Thai restaurant in Leamington Spa, which has been refurbished with an open-plan kitchen.
