OPINION: Find something to fill the traditional ‘down time’

With Labour announcing a Budget last week that took no account of the pub as a great British institution and was less than favourable for the hospitality industry, what is the future for the traditional pub?

A recent survey of the British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) earlier this year showed only one in four pubs were currently profitable. With Labour’s new Budget initiatives, this is hardly going to get any better.

If we are to weather the storm, what can we do to make the great British pub more relevant and to continue to attract people into our businesses?

Both of my pubs are situated in an area outside the city centre in historic residential areas but within walking distance of the main drag.

One of my pubs is known for its well-kept beers and ales, and was recently awarded the local CAMRA award for Best City Beer Pub. I’m sure that you are imagining it now. Very traditional on the outside, painted black & white and, inside, the bar itself dominates the room.

In full swing

Locals and visitors alike stand around the bar putting the world to rights, talking about the latest ale offering and the merits of the brewery from whence it came. The homemade steak & ale pie and fish & chips are to die for while Sunday lunch is almost always booked out, yet roasts are the only thing on the menu.

Imagine it then at 11.30am last Saturday. It was full of women, many of a certain age, dressed in all sorts of sequin and Lycra creations. Many with gems and jewels adorning their faces. Feather boas were flying. Plastic blow-up mics were being put to good use and the jugs of Cheeky Vimto were flowing. A singer also clad in some metallic jumpsuit creation was whipping them into a frenzy… Abba-themed boozy brunch was in full swing.

These two images appear to have nothing in common but they are my answer to driving profit and a new customer base into a pub business that has never seen such things but, in the current economic climate, needs to do something drastic to survive.

My husband and some of my colleagues thought I was mad when I suggested the Milbourne Arms – that bastion of propriety and great ales – let its hair down and do something different.

“You’ll drive all our regulars away,” said Trev, our trusty barman and best custodian of real and craft ale this side of the town. “No one will come here for a girlie party vibe said my 20-something daughter,” but come they have, and this little venture has made the past two months some of our most profitable ever.

Never the twain shall meet

The key to this success has been to attract this new customer base to the pub at down times and to offering a locally based, good-quality, great-value-for-money experience, which can knock the socks of some of the offers currently available in some of the large cities around the country.

Once the first videos and photos of our events hit social media, the next two events were booked up in double quick time. When customers saw the food and entertainment on offer, the venue became a secondary consideration.

How do our locals feel about this new venture? Well never the twain shall meet. The ‘Brunch time party goers’ arrive at 11.30 am and leave at about 3pm, which, to be honest, is the earliest our afternoon drinkers usually arrive. We advertise the pub will be closed for a private event but, to be honest, it’s at a time when most of our regulars wouldn’t even notice.

Essentially, we are running two very different businesses from the one building. Instead of closing the doors for even more ‘unprofitable down time’, we are utilising our assets, the building and our staff at a time when they are both normally under-used.

A surprising upside of this whole venture is that some of the customers who have visited for brunch, but who would have never set foot in the pub normally, are coming back at other times with their husbands or family. Our regulars are enjoying seeing new faces in the pub.

So, when you are sitting pondering what to do over the coming months, don’t be afraid to ‘sweat your assets’ and use times when the pub may be empty to drive new and different customers to your door. It’s certainly working for us.