Ascot Inns has just launched its first brand A Bar 2 Far.
Vince Healy wasn't too bothered when he was forced to queue to get into a bar in Kingston-upon-Thames in Surrey a few weeks ago.
Since A Bar 2 Far is the latest venture for his pub company Ascot Inns, he was pleased to see it was so full on a Friday night.
It is something of an experiment for a business that has been built up over the past seven years by running traditional wet-led locals.
You're unlikely to find bacon, brie and cranberry on a walnut baguette on the menu in one of its nine community pubs which are scattered across south-east and west London.
But the success of the first A bar 2 Far, which opened in Kingston's Griffin Centre nearly two months ago, has spurred Ascot on to develop its second branch in Tooting, south London.
"We have been running these traditional pubs for seven years and wanted something new and different to get involved in," Vince explained. "It means we have a little foot in both camps and don't have all our eggs in one basket."
The format for A Bar 2 Far is lots of squishy sofas with warm, earthy colours. Vince has sourced photographs of exotic locations from around the world and secured the rights to the images - at some cost - for future bars.
"They can come into our bars in the middle of November, when it's cold and wet outside, and the warm colours and pictures will take them back to their summer holidays," he said.
"We want people to be taken into another world. They may be in a bar in Kingston or Tooting but we want them to feel that they could be somewhere far away."
With its background in wet-led pubs, Ascot has not jumped in too far with an ambitious restaurant-style menu. It has gone for simple casual dining, with pastries, freshly filled baguettes and other delicatessen food, plus a mocha-ccina or espresso ristretto from a Costa Coffee franchise.
The outlet has also gone for affordable wines, with prices ranging from £10.50 to £15.95 a bottle - or £27.50 if customers want to splash out on some Pommery Brut Royal.
However, it is not Ascot's first foray into food since it already offers a traditional menu at a food-oriented outlet in Old Windsor, Berkshire. It also has an involvement in the young clubbers market with Bacchus in Kingston, which is a popular laid-back venue with DJs playing a mix of indie and rock music.
At the end of last month, the company began building its second A Bar 2 Far in a former community local next to Tooting Broadway station.
The area is one of the so-called "up-and-coming" areas of London, attracting increasing numbers of professionals who cannot afford the rocketing prices of places like Clapham or Chelsea.
Vince, who worked in relief management before setting up Ascot, knows the area well since the company operates several other pubs in nearby areas such as Balham, Streatham and Forest Hill. Its other cluster of pubs is west of London, close to its headquarters in Sunningdale, Berkshire.
When A Bar 2 Far opens in October, it will cover about 3,500sq ft, including a dance area, with a 2,000sq ft garden.
"The bars will change through the day," Vince said. "We want people to feel they can come in during the day for a mid-morning coffee or in the evening to warm up before going clubbing."
The pub, which was formerly run on a four-year management contract by the Tooting-based CCT Group, is the fifth that Ascot has leased from Unique Pub Company, this time on a 30-year agreement.
Vince said that he would continue to look for sites that were freeholds or long-term leases because of the sums being invested.
"We prefer Unique's long-term leases because they offer the best terms and conditions and the best discount," he said.
Ascot already plans to open another two outlets under the name of A Bar 2 Far in the first six months of next year, with long-term plans for a chain of up to eight."We want to examine what elements are working well before taking it further," Vince said.
But there are no plans to expand beyond about 15 outlets, remaining a relatively small business, with Vince's wife Naomi looking after training and personnel and the pubs in the hands of operations director Sue Caroline.
The company's profile has been raised within the industry by Vince's new job as treasurer of the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers, of which Ascot has been a member for about five years. He is also on the association's licensing sub-committee, helping to fight the trade's corner in lobbying the Government over reform.
Despite Ascot's jump into the café-bar sector, Vince still believes his company's core business is "town centre wet-led boozers".
"The café-bar market is definitely the future. They're here to stay," he said. "But they won't take business away from good traditional pubs.
"Young people will grow up and still want to go to a quiet pub for a pint.
"Some people say it's the beginning of the end for traditional locals, but there will always be a market for them."
Ascot Inns
Address:The Clock House,Chobham Road,Sunningdale,Berkshire SL5 0JA Tel: 01344 874222Website: www.abar2far.comNo of pubs: 10 mgd