Pubs fight back against coffee shops

Pubs are fighting back against the new competition from high street coffee houses, and the latest bar designs are, conveniently, well suited to the installation of coffee machines.

Even a traditional operator such as McMullen, the Hertford brewer, is getting in on the act.

When four sites were recently targeted for major renovation, the firm's catering development manager Paul Robbins decided to take a serious look at coffee. No real coffee-making facilities had been available at the pubs before, but he went straight to fully automatic espresso machines, supplied by Melitta and providing a whole menu of speciality coffees.

"With the whole pub market changing so rapidly the way ahead is to understand what your customers want and provide it," he said.

"Although the pubs that now have machines are destination venues, and do not directly compete with high street bars, cafés and restaurants, I foresaw a very viable future for the coffee side of the business. We trialled Melitta's C5 and C60 Cafina machines at our offices, the results were consistent and, importantly, no operator skill was required."

Now, coffee sales at the pubs are spiralling to up to 200 cups a day.

One of the four outlets is the Cock o' the North in Hatfield, Hertfordshire. With an interior designed by Phil Harrison of Harrison Design, the mood is airy, clean and streamlined and a move away from McMullen's traditional pubs.

According to manager Rita Butler, trade is buzzing. "There is no doubt that our coffee menu plays a significant role," she said. "The morning trade, especially during the cooler months, is largely made up of customers who meet here for a coffee and during the day we have regulars who go through the entire coffee menu.

"In the evening we attract another type of coffee customer, perhaps someone who will try a liqueur coffee or a businessman who stops for a cappuccino on his way home."

Melitta's C5 espresso/cappuccino machine achieves consistency through an automatic system that checks a range of factors including water temperature, grinding fineness, coffee powder quantity and infusion time, correcting them on an ongoing basis.