Setting a new trend

Never mind the cities - let's go for the towns and the customers nobody else seems to have bothered about.

That's broadly how Scottish pub firm Gastro Taverns' managing director Julian Mobbs sums up the thinking behind a niche company with some big and bold ideas about customer service and quality - thinking that could be quietly setting a trend.

With the exception of the Gas Lamp café bar in Aberdeen's Market Street, the venues are all currently in up-and- coming East Coast commuter towns.

And they may just mark the start of a 'new wave' of food-led bars able to capture the public's imagination in a way which, for example, standard pubco outlets cannot.

Innovation on the coast

The company employs around 100 staff and its sales for this next financial year are expected to be more than £2.5m.

The business kicked off last year with £1m investment from Dundee-based SHK Property and Investment, led by entrepreneur Tony Hussain, who also has restaurant sector interests. SHK acquires and owns the

properties, leasing them back to Gastro Taverns.

At a time when news reports paint an unfailingly bleak picture of what's happening in Scottish pubs - reliably reckoned to be back down to 1980s numbers within the next year - the venture Julian launched a year ago with partners Alan Underwood-Parry and Jackie Taylor appears to have achieved all of its initial objectives.

While some companies aim for 20 or 100 outlets, Gastro Taverns (which, unsurprisingly given its name, has a major thing about quality food) has set itself an apparently modest target of just a dozen outlets in the first 18 months.

However, Mobbs is quick to point out they're far from being just any old bars.

Geographically and conceptually, each venue is carefully tailored to specific local audiences in East Coast towns where, unlike the cities, genuine innovation has been hard to spot before now.

More than this, he says, it's innovation with flair - each venture is unique, with no chain shop 'corporate look'. Apart from the bar offer, reckoned to be above-average in key areas such as wine, the common ingredients can be summed up as 'female-friendly, ideal for couples, excellent food at reasonable prices'.

The interior fit is also reckoned to be a bit special, with the sort of décor and design attributes you might expect in a boutique hotel rather than a pub.

It's a plain fact, says Mobbs, that until now towns such as Kirkcaldy had nothing remotely to compare with venues like the Flaming Kilt, a bespoke 'hybrid' which combines Scottish grill restaurant, cocktail bar and deli.

"I think the thing which matters most from the customer's point of view is the passion we bring to the whole thing," he observes. "A lot of people talk a good game about locally sourced food, but don't really bring it off in terms of results.

"We've taken the time and trouble to get it right. We've been able to create the sort of reputation which brings people back time and again, and have also pitched our prices at rates which mean that while our places are ideal for a special celebration, you can afford to visit regularly."

A key selling point is farm-fresh food purchased, where possible, within a 40-mile radius of its outlets.

Customer lures include a loyalty card scheme, along with invitations to special events, and the venues have monthly newsletters stressing there's always something new and interesting worth visiting for - if only the free bottle of wine regulars can expect on their birthdays.

There are also special ladies' nights which, apart from quality cocktails, include "menus with a more feminine feel", reflecting current health-conscious eating trends.

Outreach market

The company is also targeting the stay-at-home market, with an 'outreach' catering service which promises to replicate the food quality (if not the ambience) of the venues in your own dining room.

"We're offering individuality and above all quality, to people who simply haven't been catered for in this way before," Mobbs says. "And I'm glad to say every one of our places is showing consistently good results.

"Once we have our dozen outlets we'll sit back a little and decide where we take it from there."

He won't be drawn on future plans, but there are many towns like Cupar or Kirkcaldy which have yet to see any offer comparable to a Gastro Tavern - so continued steady expansion hasn't been ruled out.

So is Scotland looking to a gastronomic quality pub future, while traditional bars wither on the vine?

Success breeds emulation, so further ventures along similar lines could follow from other entrepreneurs ever-eager to tap into good ideas in difficult times.