Project update 1: our rural pub

Residents of Whashton, the tiny Yorkshire village that is home to the Hack & Spade, already know all about the pub's involvement in Sell More, Save More. Licensees Anne and Alastair Dowson-Park, who are representing rural pubs in the project, launched a questionnaire for all the villagers after Brakes visited the pub last month.

With a 50 per cent response rate, the couple have already got the locals thinking about the pub in a way they weren't before.

The challenge facing Anne and Alistair - and our 13 category champions - is to turn the pub into more of a cherished village local than the high-class restaurant many people perceive it to be at the moment.

And the feedback from the questionnaire has got the couple thinking. "People told us they wanted to see more traditional pub food and York-shire dishes in the pub," says Alastair.

Brakes also advised them to look at other key areas across the food range.

"They said we should reduce our menu and that is something we are already thinking about," Alastair continues. "And they suggested we go and have a closer look at some of our competitors. "The food was atrocious, but it was cheap and the place was packed."

As a result, Anne and Alastair - who have been in the pub since last August - are looking closely at the pricepoints of key dishes on their menu, with an eye on introducing more meals priced at under £10.

For now, the couple are taking a cautious approach to making any changes across the business, preferring to wait until they have seen all our category champions - and consultant Carl May in particular - before deciding their next move.

In the meantime, they are looking forward to improving their product knowledge through attending a Diageo 360Þ esp course in Darlington, but they are unsure about following the company's advice to the letter.

"We are interested to hear what they've got to say on point-of-sale - but we are not the sort of pub that wants to put posters up everywhere," says Alastair, suggesting they'd be keener to offer more discreet information on tables.

One unlikely result of the Hack & Spade's involvement in the project has been Simon Theakston of brewer Theakston making contact. After seeing their picture in The Publican he asked them if they wanted a new Theakston pub sign outside!

BEER​

InBev UK highlighted the disconnection between the outside of the pub and the inside - it looks like a traditional pub but has been run more like a restaurant inside.

Beer has a real role to play in turning that perception around, believes Chris Bull, InBev UK senior development manager (on-trade).

Making draught beer the key offering for the outlet will be one step forward, and once the Hack & Spade has more of a pub feel, it will play a vital role in communicating the proposition.

The pub's ultimate aim is to be able to sustain one or two cask ales on the bar - although this is currently not viable due to lack of trade.

Other recommendations for the pub include:

- Support for the draught range and extra choice through packaged beers where draught throughputs are too low to offer it on the front bar

- Speciality beer to open up the opportunity to link beer and food

- Full training support on brands once installation has taken place, as well as cellar training

- Changes to the back-bar to improve visibility, including another fridge and a corner unit for more displays.

A range of activities has been suggested to generate interest in beer at

the pub, ranging from a speciality beer & food night to footfall-driving activity such as a free pint for members of the community coming to the pub for the first time.

THE CELLAR​

"This outlet was very restricted for space and a small area behind the bar was allocated for storage of beer and wine," says Innserve's commercial director Julie Charge. "The dispense installation was a little unorthodox but the lines were clean and the lager was served within specification."

Julie believes the real challenge for the pub will come in the summer months, as there was no cellar cooling but a number of machines such as a glass washer and an ice-maker in the same space, all venting heat into a room of an already high ambient temperature.

"This puts the remote cooler under enormous strain which it is not designed to cope with," says Julie. "Either the beer will be warmer than it should be, or the cooler may break down, causing loss of potential sales.

The key task here is to find a solution with limited space that provides enough cooling support for the beer - which must involve cellar cooling.

Watch this space to find out what that solution might be.

SPIRITS​

Drinks giant Diageo thought the Hack & Spade already had a strong selection of quality and premium brands, which were all displayed to maximise visibility. "Having premium brands displayed is good, as it allows customers to upgrade to a better-quality brand," says Diageo category development executive Toni Lian Michel.

"Anne told us that they wanted to increase their sales of spirits - as a starting point, Diageo recommended drinks menus. These will make customers aware of all the various types of sprit brands on offer."

Diageo says mixed spirits are the most profitable drinks category in the on-trade. There is an opportunity for the Hack & Spade to drive wet sales by offering their customers the new long mixed spirit.

Diageo also recommends training the barstaff in order to get them to maximise the customer experience and to help the customers through the newly created drinks menu.

"Anne said she wanted to make the outlet seem more like a pub and increase spirits sales," says Toni. "Diageo recommends using POS in the 'decision corridor' - the entrance, the route to the bar, the bar itself and the back-bar."

FOOD​

Brakes' discussions with the Hack & Spade highlighted the need to focus on finding out more about what local people want from their pub.

As a result of this the visiting team came up with the suggestion to put out a questionnaire to nearby residents, and advised Anne and Alastair to check out their local competition.

Brakes also suggested a string of meal occasion ideas, with an eye on morning coffees/patisserie and afternoon tea, and possibly catering more for walkers visiting the picturesque area later in the year.

A more streamlined core menu incorporating a selection of bar meals, offering different price points, would also be beneficial.

Anne and Alastair, and all the licensees involved, had been really receptive to the input of the company, comments Brakes pub trade director Nick Willis.

"It's only early days but each of the businesses has different needs. They have different customer demographics and their locations mean a different set of opportunities," he says.

"The great thing is they seem as excited about working together as we are and we have some great ideas about how they can make a difference. Some are just small tweaks and some are a little bigger."