Red Cow Inn in Llwydcoed: Ray of hope

Licensee Ray Davies tells Michelle Perrett how he and his wife, Tracey, have turned around the fortunes of the Red Cow Inn in Llwydcoed, Aberdare, South Wales

How we got here​

I am from a military background and was in the parachute regiment for 12 years. I finished with the military and then found out I had leukaemia. After a bone marrow transplant, I decided I wanted to run a pub. My father-in-law knew the owner of this pub, and had some knowledge of the business, which was a real help to us as newcomers to the trade.

My wife, Tracey, and I came into this pub two-and-a-half years ago. My wife comes from a catering background and in the beginning she continued to work in her office job, but cooked in the pub at weekends. She later took redundancy and then we decided to go for it.

We have leased the pub for five years from a private landlord with a view to buying it when the price is right. We wanted to buy the business upfront, but the price was too high.

It took three months to renovate the pub, which cost us £15,000. Basically the upstairs flat was gutted and we had to replaster the walls and everything. We struggled to keep the pub warm, so we took a stairwell out and put a fire burner in. It took a lot of work, but we managed to keep trading the whole time.

The kitchen was in a terrible state as the previous licensees had not been doing food, so this took a lot of work. This is now the only pub in the village and it is like a community centre, as even the local shop has closed down. This is very much a local business and our staff are all local.

Our food offer ​

The local response has been good. My wife does all the cooking, but we have an assistant chef who lives nearby, which is great for us. The pub was previously 100% wet, but if we were not doing food the business would not be sustainable. We have introduced a food offer which is 80% fresh food including hand-cut chips. We did do frozen chips in our first week, but I said that even if I had to cut them myself we were doing them fresh. We wanted to use fresh produce to get a better mark up. We get our sausages from a local pig farmer and we get organic steaks from our local butcher. We did celebrate British Pie Week which was really good for us. We did a Desperate Dan pie, which went down really well, and during Chip Week we did four types of chips including triple fried chips.

On a Sunday we do 70 lunches, which is a lot for a small unit. A traditional Sunday lunch is served for £6.50 with real roasties, parsnips and homemade gravy. Our food is value for money, but it is not cheap. Our cheapest dish is £4.95 and our most expensive is organic rib-eye steak at £12.95.

Our cask ale ​

There were no cask ales when we took over. I started with only one ale and now have five and one cider and they are all selling well. Cask ale is not that popular round here in this part of Wales, but on the other hand we have found that people do seek us out just for it.

When we brought cask ale into the pub we even had a nomination for Mid-Glamorgan Campaign for Real Ale pub of the year in 2009 and we were not even in the CAMRA guides then. We are now in the CAMRA Good Pub Guide and are even the first pub listed in Wales because we are in Aberdare. This week we had Harvest Ale, the CAMRA Ale of the Year 2010, on offer. We stock a lot of ales from all over the country, including a range of Welsh microbreweries.

We also like to use the ale in our foods and we are currently planning a Hobgoblin Goulash for Halloween. We use anything on the calendar. For example, Remembrance Day is coming up and we will probably put on Liberation Ale.

We are also going to promote British Pub Week and during Cask Ale Week we used third-of-a-pint glasses to promote it.

Festivals and promos ​

We started running beer festivals outside with a marquee, a stage for live music and a range of cask ales. We generally have between 14 and 16 cask ales on tap and about 10 ciders. At the last beer festival we actually sold out of most of the ales and ciders. We have live music in the tent from 6pm to 12midnight which proves very popular. We run a couple a year in May and August, although we will probably do another one in April next year as well.

We do occasionally run promotions, such as £2 a pint on a new ale, or a pie-and-a-pint promotion for £6. As this is very much a locals pub we also do lots for the community and I just did a 336-mile walk from North Wales to South Wales and raised nearly £3,000 for the Ty Hafan charity. Even though we are careful not to bombard our customers with charity fundraising, they do like to get involved when we do.

Trading levels​

Even though trade is good for us, we still struggle. In the pub trade at the moment, being able to sustain yourself is a feat. We don't have Sky, as with our rateable value it would cost £950 a month.

Rugby is very popular in this area and Sky would be useful for that, so it does affect our trade. We had to ask a football team not to come in anymore as we wanted a nice environment for people to drink in. We never have any trouble in this pub — it is a safe environment and we want to keep it that way.

The fourth or fifth richest man in Wales lives here in Aberdare. It is like a classless society in this pub. A millionaire can sit here right next to a man who is not working at all. I would not have it any other way.

Facts 'n' stats​

Tenure: Five year private lease

Wet:dry split 2007: 100:0

Wet:dry split 2010: 70:30

Turnover 2007: £1,000 per week

Turnover 2010: £4,500 to £5,000 per week

Covers: Back room: 40; Conservatory: 20; Restaurant: 20