MyNewPub

Mermaid Inn, Ellington, Cambridgeshire

Agent: Christie+Co

Gary Barton has just taken on the lease of the Mermaid Inn, a Merchant Inns-owned freehold in Ellington, Cambridgeshire. He has a background in large-scale catering and previously worked as a food and beverage manager for Thistle Hotels in a number of locations, most recently in Swindon.

Barton said: "I really need to increase the trade in the dining room. At the moment we're doing between two and 12 covers, but we ought to be doing 20-30. We just need to take the food to the next level, offering pub grub in the bar and introducing a slightly more sophisticated offering in the restaurant."

Barton is keeping things simple, the menu currently

features dishes like sausage and mash and paella, and prices start from £7.95.

Barton is a one-man-band, he's had to take on a mortgage and a further business loan to buy the lease and get the

business up and running.

Barton said: "I've had to spend a lot money trying to get

the business up to scratch, especially my accommodation, which was in a very bad state - there was leaking water

everywhere."

Barton's quite happy with the way things are running, though. He said: "I'm happy with the staff I've got, I'm not going to make any changes, I've got a chef with a pub-food background to look after the kitchen, and I am going to

concentrate on getting the front of house up to scratch.