Star: rising to ever greater heights

Ben Cox, who runs the Star at Sancton in East Yorkshire with his wife Lindsey, doesn't like to sit back, as Robyn Black discovers.

How we got here​

We bought this pub in 2003, as I was looking for a way to move out of my role as a sous chef at a hotel and to run a business together with my wife Lindsey. Running a pub offered us that option.

It was an old roadside boozer that was boarded up when we first saw it but it was in such a good location that it really stood out above the dozens of venues we saw, so we decided to go for it.

It is in an area I know very well because my family are originally from around here, and it had a large bit of land, which we knew we could develop plus the village and the nearby road so we weren't too far off the beaten track, and with potential year-round customers.

It was a huge learning curve when we opened, I'd only ever worked in hotels and catering for large functions at the fine dining end of the market and pubs are a very different proposition. We had to keep changing and tweaking our first menus until we got it right.

The pub​

We didn't have a huge amount of money for refurbishment when we first arrived but we made some vital changes as soon as we got here. The kitchen equipment was pretty basic, for example, just an electric four-burner hob, some table top friers and a microwave so we had to throw that all away and buy new stuff. We also had to invest in proper cutlery and crockery, so most of the small budget we had went on those two areas.

We did brighten up the place, however, to attract people back in and set about promoting the pub and the new food offer in the local area.

I did a lot of cooking demonstrations and got involved with local schools, talking about healthy eating and so on and we got involved in some food festivals as well, which helped get word out that we were doing good quality food.

We steadily built evening trade and before too long were having to turn people away on a regular basis but lunchtimes remained a challenge. There is a lot of competition for daytime trade around here from coffee shops and garden centres and so on.

Refurbishment​

Despite the success of the restaurant in the evenings we knew we could grow the business further by tapping into the lunchtime trade and increasing the amount of covers we could do in the evenings. We were also concerned that our local drinkers were being pushed out because the bar is only small and was being taken up by people waiting for tables.

So we decided to invest in a second refurbishment but something on a much bigger scale than the last one.

It took us four years to get our plans approved by the council, as there was some worry that with the extension it would become too big. We ended up having to change the plans a lot and used three different architects, the fees for which added to the costs.

Once it got underway however it only took 10 months from start to finish and we only had to close for five weeks in total. It all came in on budget and on time, which we were delighted with. I think it's because we paid to have a quantitative surveyor to come on board at the start and do all the costings and look at what we could realistically achieve with our budget. That was a large cost in itself but it definitely paid for itself in the end.

We also chose to use a local builder instead of a big contractor and I would say that was an enormous advantage as well.

Pricing policy​

Now we have 65 covers in the restaurant instead of 20, 26 in the bar instead of 20 and an extra 50 covers outside in our new garden. On an average Saturday evening we now serve 100 covers.

We've also increased outside trade by 80% since we reopened in July and we've regained our local drinkers, which has boosted our wet takings.

We're even more keen to promote local beers now and I have four handpulls on at the pub all of the time. We've also teamed up with our local CAMRA branch and give anyone with a membership card 10% off our real ales.

Our overall wet/dry split has remained the same, about 30/70 but the whole business has grown since the refurbishment so we have seen wet trade increase.

Ideally I'd like the ratio to move to more like 40/60, but without damaging the food trade.

We don't run very many other promotions, although we do offer loyalty cards to two local companies for daytime eating and drinking in the week to boost daytime trade.

I've always avoided doing price promotions as I feel people will think, if you can do cheaper prices today then why not all year round? Our prices are right for our customers and represent really good value for the quality we can give them, I wouldn't want to mess with that sense of trust.

The website​

We use our website a lot to promote the pub and to let customers know what is going on. We got someone to design it for us, as we wanted it to reflect the pub and not be badly designed or tacky in any way. It was a local company that did it for us, it cost around £2,000 but it has definitely paid off.

We don't have to post menus out any more, or print leaflets or post out newsletters so it has paid for itself.

We are working on a new one for the end of next year, which will have even more benefits for customers and us.

We use it to tell everyone about menu changes as well as events we have coming up, such as Game Fortnight, British Sausage Week or what we are offering for Valentine's weekend or Christmas.

We do want to do even more events next year, so are working on planning all that now. We also want to expand our outside catering arm. We've always done some but I think we'll really begin to push that in the new year for big private functions and larger weddings and so on.

My advice...​

• Remember location is key when you choose your pub. Think about things like year round trade, passing traffic, the size of the grounds

• Focus on finding the best quality suppliers you can. It won't cost any more long term if you have good negotiating skills and build up a relationship with them.

• It's easy these days to find a decent butcher but it takes some effort to find a good fishmonger

• Encourage locals to bring

in any produce out of their allotments or gardens they don't want. Most will only ask for a pint in return and the few that want cash only come and spend it in the pub anyway.

Facts 'n' stats​

Pub: The Star at Sancton in East Yorkshire

Licensees: Ben and Lindsey Cox

Turnover 2003: £180,000

Turnover 2010 (estimated): £850,000

Wet:dry ratio: 30:70

Wet GP: 65%

Dry GP: 65%

Staff: 9 full time, 15 part time.