Events & Occasions

Christmas 2016

Planning for a Festive Fillip: How operators can make the most of Christmas

19-Sep-2016 By Michelle Perrett

People on both sides of the bar may still be enjoying the late summer sun, but for those behind the jumps, Christmas is fast approaching and with it the need to get stuck in to the preparations. And, with competition for consumer spending at an all time...

Great British Pub Awards

Pub Awards: Best Newcomer finalist - The White Mare, Beckermet, Cumbria

16-Sep-2016 By James Evison

The White Mare in Beckermet, Cumbria, is the first site taken on by husband-and-wife Iain and Dianne Irving (pictured above with celebrity chef Jean-Christophe Novelli at the pub’s opening). 

Great British Pub Awards

Pub Awards: Best Newcomer finalist - The Turks Head, Woodbridge, Suffolk

16-Sep-2016 By MA

When the Turks Head closed more than three years ago, local residents Jemima and Dominic Withey were worried they had nowhere to take the dog – so they bought the pub!

Great British Pub Awards

Pub Awards: Best Newcomer finalist - The Grantley Arms, Wonersh, Surrey

16-Sep-2016 By MA

When Chris Frederick popped into his local one day the questions went beyond ‘what are you drinking?’. He was asked if he would like to buy the pub and, to cut a long story short, he did.

Great British Pub Awards

Pub Awards: Best Newcomer finalist - The Better Half, Hove, East Sussex

16-Sep-2016 By MA

A City trader for 25 years, Hove resident Simon Stern decided he’d like to give something back to the local area – in the shape of a great pub. 

Pub Awards: Best Newcomer finalist - The Artisan, Frome, Somerset

14-Sep-2016 By MA

As a former head of events for the Marketing Society, running 80 events a year, Siobhan Cook knows how to throw a party – and she looks on her operation at the Artisan in the Somerset town of Frome as the opportunity to organise one big shindig.

All-Parliamentary Beer Group

Andrew Griffiths MP stands down as chairman of the All-Parliamentary Beer Group

13-Sep-2016 By Oli Gross

Andrew Griffiths MP has announced he will step down as chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group following his appointment as a member of the Government Whips’ Office.  

Great British Pub Awards

Pub Awards: Best Student finalist - Champs, Sheffield

08-Sep-2016 By James Evison

Champs Sports Bar and Grill near to the city centre of Sheffield provides an environment in which to watch football and other sports within the catchment area of the student population of the university district.

Great British Pub Awards

Pub Awards: Best Student finalist - The Cowley Retreat, Oxford

08-Sep-2016 By James Evison

The Cowley Retreat is not marketed as a students’ pub and there is a clear desire to make it a space for everyone, rather than just the ‘beer and a burger’ student market.

Great British Pub Awards

Pub Awards: Best Student Winner - The Doctor's Orders, Sheffield

08-Sep-2016 By James Evison

Previously the West End Hotel, the Doctor’s Orders is a totally refurbished pub located near to the university district in Sheffield with its name taken from its proximity to the city centre’s Hallamshire hospital.

Great British Pub Awards

Pub Awards: Best Student finalist - Dram, Glasgow

08-Sep-2016 By James Evison

Dram, run by licensee Jackie Keith, shows a real caring attitude towards its student customers with its prices, the variety of food offers and the information around the site.

Great British Pub Awards

Pub Awards: Best Student finalist - The Swan, Lincoln

08-Sep-2016 By James Evison

The Swan is very good quality students’ union that delivers on the elements that it wants to bring together: live entertainment and music; good quality food and drink; societies and clubs; and community relations.

Great British Pub Awards

Pub Awards: Best Family finalist - The Wrygarth Inn, Great Hatfield, East Yorkshire

08-Sep-2016 By MA

Situated off the beaten track, the Wrygarth Inn has to punch well above its weight to ensure it can pull in the punters both locally and from further afield.

Great British Pub Awards

Pub Awards: Best Family finalist - The White Horse, Ruddington, Nottinghamshire

08-Sep-2016 By MA

An ambition to create the kind of pub that he would want to take his own family to is behind the success of Andy Hunt’s operation.

Great British Pub Awards

Pub Awards: Best Family finalist - The Puss in Boots

08-Sep-2016 By MA

The Puss in Boots is a powerhouse of a family pub, catering for more than 2,000 covers a week, with a first-rate carvery and the recent addition of pizzas, which have gone down a storm with kids.

Great British Pub Awards

Pub Awards: Best Family finalist - The Five Bells, Colne Engaine, Essex

08-Sep-2016 By MA

This is a strong, family-focussed pub that offers a good mix of services and events for all aspects of its local community.

Great British Pub Awards

Pub Awards: Best Family finalist - The Fighting Cocks, Horton Kirby, Kent

08-Sep-2016 By MA

Making the jump from the music industry into the hospitality sector seemed like a good option for Fighting Cocks’ licensee Chris Maskery, and eight years on he’s taken a struggling, run down and unloved operation and transformed it into a stand-out family-focused...

Great British Pub Awards

Pub Awards: Best Family Winner - The Boot, Hertfordshire

08-Sep-2016 By MA

Zoe Eliasson and her partner Nick Idle have a long association with their pub, the Boot, in Sarratt, Hertfordshire. 

Great British Pub Awards

Pub Awards: Best Community finalist - The Wrygarth Inn, Great Hatfield, East Yorkshire

08-Sep-2016 By James Evison

The Wrygarth Inn has a connection to the local area going back more than 200 years, however, when Ray and Sandra Thompson took on the business it had been empty for two years and the car park was virtually overgrown.

Great British Pub Awards

Pub Awards: Best Community finalist - The Ropemakers, Bridport, Dorset

08-Sep-2016 By James Evison

Taking on a pub that had previously been named locally as the Dopemakers and turning into a thriving community hub, hosting everything from cheese clubs to touring bands is no mean feat, but Geraldine and John Baker seized the challenge with both hands.

Great British Pub Awards

Pub Awards: Best Community Winner - The Firbank Pub & Kitchen, Manchester

08-Sep-2016 By James Evison

Simon Delaney lives and breathes Wythenshawe. As the owner of The Firbank, along with his wife Rachel, in the Manchester suburb for the past 21 years, he’s passionate about his home turf and keen to dispel myths surrounding an area once branded “the biggest...

Great British Pub Awards

Pub Awards: Best Community finalist - The Chequers, Westoning, Bedfordshire

08-Sep-2016 By James Evison

The Chequers is a beautiful pub firmly embedded into its village community, a feat its owners, Philip and Vicki Kelly, have accomplished in a remarkably short time.

Great British Pub Awards

Pub Awards: Best Community finalist - Alexandra Vaults, Saltburn-by-the-Sea, North Yorkshire

08-Sep-2016 By James Evison

Due to celebrate 150 years of history, this fantastic community pub –tucked away in the back streets of a former Quaker town – has plenty of charm.

Great British Pub Awards

Pub Awards: Best Community Pub 2016 - the shortlist

08-Sep-2016 By MA

The finalists for this year's Best Community Pub at the Great British Pub Awards.

Events

Great British Pub Awards 2016 - the finalists

08-Sep-2016 By MA

Find out all you need to know about the Great British Pub Awards 2016, including finalists, the event and the winners.

Charity

Masterchef's Gregg Wallace calls on pubs to join the fight against prostate cancer

01-Sep-2016 By Mike Berry

Following the launch last year of pop-up pub fundraiser, the Men United Arms, Masterchef judge Gregg Wallace, is calling on pubs across the country this autumn to throw open their doors and host a fundraising night in order to help save men’s lives.

Events

Enterprise Inns pub celebrates 150 years

24-Aug-2016 By Nikkie Sutton

A family-run Warwickshire pub is celebrating its 150th birthday with a day-long event on Saturday 3 September, two days after its official anniversary.

My Pub

My Pub: The Rashleigh Arms, Charlestown, Cornwall

24-Aug-2016 By Sara Hussein

After winning Licensee of the Year at the 2016 British Institute of Innkeeping Awards, Rob and Lucy Brewer discuss the secret to their success and how far they’ve come since they first entered the site 10 years ago

Premium Pubs

Stand Out from the Crowd: How pubs can deliver a premium experience to customers

23-Aug-2016 By Nigel Huddleston

The lengthy shadows of global financial meltdown and austerity seem to fly in the face of prevailing trends in hospitality, where the products and service on offer have steadily improved with consumers seemingly happy to pay more to go out.

Community

Ministers to pull pints in pub to gather ‘diminishing flock’

18-Aug-2016 By Sara Hussein

An operator is aiming to bring the community together by working with the local church and inviting ministers to serve pints behind the bar. 

My Pub

My Pub: The Italian Job, Chiswick, London

12-Aug-2016 By Sara Hussein

After opening the UK’s first Italian craft beer pub in Chiswick last year, co-founders Giovanni Campari and Giuseppe Verdoni explain how they’re planning to bring a taste of Italy to London.

My Pub: The Three Tuns, Sheffield

09-Aug-2016 By Liam Coleman

The unique size and shape of the Three Tuns is both a blessing and a curse. The manager of the Sheffield pub, Kate Major, explains how its iconic triangular shape draws customers in, but how it also presents its own challenges for the closely-knit team.

Technology

Using customer feedback: Be a positive part of the loop

08-Aug-2016 By Helen Gilbert

Online feedback is increasingly being used by consumers to research the best place to have a pint or enjoy a meal and it’s a trend that’s set to continue.

Charity

Pubs ‘challenged’ to take part in charity fundraising event for Prostate Cancer UK

05-Aug-2016 By Sara Hussein

Prostate Cancer UK is urging licensees to host a fundraising night after last year’s launch of the pop-up pub fundraiser, the Men United Arms. 

Gin

Gin festival attracts thousands

28-Jul-2016 By Nikkie Sutton

A Cheshire pub hosted the county’s biggest gin festival and saw more than 2,500 in attendance. 

Cask Ale Week 2016

Cask Ale Week: A Beginner's Guide

28-Jul-2016 By Sara Hussein

September sees the return of Cask Ale Week, but why should pubs get involved in the annual event? Sara Hussein reports

Marketing

7 ways to be a digital marketer

26-Jul-2016 By Chris Lowe

Digital marketing is a must for any business, big or small. It can be daunting, but fear not, there’s a lot you can do on a modest budget to start or enhance your journey. 

Top Tips

5 tips to make your pub more family friendly

20-Jul-2016 By Sara Hussein

Pubs are popular go-to venues for families to socialise and spend quality time with one another as well as meet up with other families. Yet there are many that are not making the most of their facilities to create a child-friendly atmosphere, which could...

MENU DESIGN

Rise or fall: creating a solid summer menu

18-Jul-2016 By Daniel Woolfson

The British summer is a volatile beast, isn’t it? One day it will be tropical-style torrential rain, the next it’s sunscreen-doused noses, ill-fitting shorts and burned pink skin as far as the eye can see. 

GBPA

GBPA 2016 finalists revealed

15-Jul-2016 By Nikkie Sutton

After a record number of entries this year for the 'Oscars of the trade', The Morning Advertiser's Great British Pub Awards, the finalists have now been announced.

Top Portuguese chef to cook 'nose to tail' dinner at London pub

13-Jul-2016 By Daniel Woolfson

High-profile chef Nuno Mendes is set to cook a five-course meal based on Fergus Henderson’s revered British cookbook Nose to Tail Eating at Hackney pub the Marksman later this month. 

Five SIBA brewers make Imbibe Live beer final

28-Jun-2016 By Nikkie Sutton

Five independent craft brewers from the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) complete the line-up for this year's Imbibe Wheat Beer Challenge final.

Fuller’s announces Master Cellarman of the Year 2016

27-Jun-2016 By Nikkie Sutton

London pub company Fuller’s has crowned Kim Rennie from the Crystal Palace in Bath as Master Cellarman of the Year.

Licensee of the Year: Brewers reveal the secrets of success

16-Jun-2016 By Nikkie Sutton

Rob and Lucy Brewer of the Rashleigh Arms in Charlestown, Cornwall, are the 2016 BII Licensee of the Year. 

Beer

BrewDog founders awarded MBEs

13-Jun-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

James Watt and Martin Dickie, founders of Scotland-based brewery and pub operator BrewDog, have been awarded MBEs in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list.

Awards

BII Licensee of the Year announced

07-Jun-2016 By James Evison

Rob and Lucy Brewer of the Rashleigh Arms - a St Austell managed house and former Publican Awards winning pub - have won this year's BII Licensee of the Year award at the institute's annual summer event in London.

Occasions

Fuller’s celebrates Father’s Day with 'My Dad’s Pub' competition

03-Jun-2016 By James Evison

Fuller's plans to celebrate Father's Day this month with a competition for dads to have their own pub for the day.

GBPA - where (literally) is the award now?

02-Jun-2016 By Nikkie Sutton

We spoke with the winners of last year’s awards to find out how they positioned their award in the pub following their success.

BII and Pub is The Hub join forces for community membership schemes

20-May-2016 By Nikkie Sutton

The partnership has been designed to offer bespoke membership packages to community groups in order to operate or to buy their local pub.

Great British Pub Award winners reap rewards

20-May-2016 By Nikkie Sutton

The Great British Pub Awards brings together some of the best in the sector and rewards those representing the highest possible standards. Nikkie Sutton talks to some of last year’s winners