Boat Inn: charting a course for success

Andrew Woodward, owner of freehouse the Boat Inn, in Stoke Bruerne, Towcester, Northamptonshire, tells Sonya Hook how he and his family have kept the family business afloat for more than 130 years.

How I got here​

As a family we have owned this pub since 1877. I was born in the pub, as was my father, and I grew up here in the accommodation at the side of the venue. As kids we helped out by collecting glasses and things — it's always been a busy pub for as long as I've known it.

I didn't join the family business straight away, though. I went to get some training with Trust House Forte for two years, and with the Westminster School of Catering. I worked at three different hotels as assistant manager, and I also gained experience in the Grill Room at the Café Royal and at the Royal Festival Hall.

When I was 21, towards the end of the '70s, I came back here and we started expanding. Up until the early '70s we just had two small bars and a skittle room, but then we added a lounge bar. In fact, around the time that I joined we doubled the size of the business by adding an 80-seat restaurant, a cocktail bar and another kitchen.

At that time my father and mother still worked here and my younger brother went straight into the business too.

Adapting to changes in trade​

We have had to adapt to various climates over the years. In the 1900s it was all about the canal and the pub was very busy with catering for the boatmen who stopped off here. Prior to that it catered for people travelling past by horse. In the war years there were troops stationed about a mile away and my gran used to get a lot of them in here wanting beer and food. In the '60s the decline of canal operating meant that our trade changed a lot, but we were just as busy as before with the boom in tourists travelling around this area by boat.

The pub has really gone from strength to strength over the years. We're in a good spot here — the original canal museum is opposite us and we sit at the head of seven locks, so it's an important location on the waterways. Stoke Bruerne is a small village with a population of just 350 people, but it's popular with visitors to the area. We have developed different aspects of our trade, such as building up good relationships with the coach companies that travel around here — people often stop here when on day trips. And we have caravans based nearby in local fields, so we keep in touch with the relevant people there.

My approach to food​

We've changed the menu over the years, sometimes just updating the wording. People's tastes change too. We've adapted our bar food menu over the past couple of years after the recession hit. People want meal deals now, so we offer two meals for £9.95 from Monday to Friday.

The restaurant side has become quieter since the recession, but this has been compensated for by the bar becoming busier. People eat differently — they're less likely to come in for a formal restaurant meal during the week; they want bar snacks instead. But we're taking the same money as before.

We have two kitchens to cater for the bar and the restaurant, and all our food is made from scratch. We open from 9am for breakfast; in the summer this is really popular with people travelling on the boats. We offer bar food from 9am until 9.30pm.

It's also a big real ale pub. We have six or seven real ales and a cider on a hand-pull.

Catering for canal visitors​

It's quite seasonal here because of the canal. We have our own grocery shop, offering all the basics for people on boats — sweets, soft drinks, souvenirs and bottled gas. And there is an ice-cream area too.

Most of the canal's traffic runs between Easter until the end of September, but we also get quite a few private boats coming here around Christmas and New Year. People go for winter moorings for four to five months over that season.

We also have a passenger boat here. It seats 40 people, and we can use it all year as a private charter. People book it for 25-minute trips or for a full day. It works really well for wedding receptions because we can offer boat trips in between the ceremony and the disco, and it helps to keep guests occupied.

Special events & services​

We get all sorts of visitors here. We were really busy when the British Grand Prix was on because we are based so near to the Silverstone race track. For the past 17 years we have been the place where the circuit doctors and nurses come to have their dinner around the event.

We also help out the local school. A couple of years ago we heard that children there didn't get hot lunches, so we decided to offer them from here in the pub. Every school day the children walk 50 or 60 yards down to the pub and at noon they have a two-course lunch in our bistro. We get up to 30 kids in here, and we charge around £2.20 per child — we cover our costs, but we don't make a profit. It's a community service and I think it's good for the kids because they learn how to act at the table.

Every June we run the bar for a large boating event attracting 150 vessels. And in October there is a Village at War weekend. There is a good atmosphere for this event — people dress in 1940s clothes and we do a piano sing-along in the pub on the Friday evening.

I am a member of the Confrérie du Sabre d'Or, so we hold Champagne parties here twice a year. They are black tie, costing £45 per person for a Champagne reception by the canal followed by a five-course meal with piano accompaniment. There is an extra charge for those who wish to sabrage (open with a sword) their own bottles.

We were hit badly with the bad weather at the start of this year. We lost around £30,000 — a lot of functions were cancelled, but things are looking up now.

Plans for the future​

We alter the pub every 10 years, but we refurbish when necessary. The total refurbishment of the restaurant and cocktail bar two years ago cost about £35,000.

Last year we spent £5,000 on renovating the gents' toilets, and we have another £10,000 to do the other loos.

We want to build even better relationships with businesses in the village. We've joined forces with a Marston's-managed pub and an Indian restaurant to market the village. We're printing 500,000 leaflets to sit on racks at local attractions.

My father​

He died two years ago and as part of his will he requested that he be buried under the pub. So we placed his ashes under a little bar in the pub, under the flagstones, and this event got picked up by six national newspapers. There is a plaque on the flagstones dedicated to him, which reads: "Stand here and have a drink on me."

Top tips​

• Keep on looking at the market. Sit down and assess it — see what you're not doing and whether you should be doing it.

• I never recommend working with members of your family. My brother and I have totally different ideas — we are like chalk and cheese. It's not always the easiest thing, but we have managed to make it work well.

Facts 'n' stats​

Staff: 30

Covers downstairs: 120 (two small bars, lounge and bistro)

Covers upstairs: 60 seated or 80 buffet (restaurant with bar)

Wet:dry ratio: 50:50

Turnover: Around £900,000 per annum