Going under cover
By installing umbrellas and heating pubs can increase their trading space and bring in more customers - no matter what the weather
The locals may be defiantly under-dressed on a night out, but there is not much else about Newcastle that suggests an affinity with the sun-splashed shores of the Mediterranean. Until, that is, you take a look along Osborne Street in the suburb of Jesmond.
In all but the stormiest weather a colourful canopy of parasols and awnings will shelter the pavement creating an air of continental street life that is certainly benefiting the bars in this upmarket quarter of the city.
The giant umbrellas outside six of the bars were supplied by Indigo, formerly ABC Sunblinds. The trend started at the bar at White's Hotel and since then the competition has had to follow suit or lose trade.
"It has become a real selling factor in the street, drawing people in," said Indigo's Gabrielle Ruddle. "Whites said that if it shuts the parasols, it immediately loses trade. That's the effect they have."
Another outlet on the street, Osborne's (pictured), which is part of the New Northumbria Hotel, has had four large umbrellas and heat lamps installed since last June.
"They have been very successful," said general manager Carol Nicholson. "Before that we had small traditional umbrellas but we couldn't use quartz heaters with them.
"These big ones are extremely eye-catching. They are like an extra room. If it's a bit drizzly, people don't have to rush inside.
"They keep the heat in and people sit outside on the milder nights during the winter because it's still nice. If the weather does get too bad, they are not fixed so we can pull them in.
"In the North East people don't really need parasols to shelter from the sun," she added. "We only get a few rays and they like to take advantage of that for the half hour it lasts. But when it rains they really do use the umbrellas as umbrellas!"
The parasols in Osborne Street are particularly tough. They are all imported by Indigo from a Swiss company, called Glatz, and unlike traditional umbrellas can survive heavy rain and are wind-tunnel tested to stand up to a force six gale - ideal for the Tyneside climate, in fact.
They are not cheap, of course. A giant brolly similar to those on Osborne Street, which can shelter 20 to 30 people, will set you back about £2,500. But Indigo's Trevor Ruddle reckons that pay-back can take as little as three months thanks to the extra trading space you will have created.
If you look after them - which means sponging them down with soapy water every so often and putting them away if it does get really nasty - they will last between five and seven years before needing a change of the specially treated canvas at 20 per cent of the initial cost.
"You ought really to compare the cost against what you would spend on building a conservatory," Trevor said.
"Umbrellas create a more open ambience - and you don't have to worry about people smoking!"
Indigo also supplies awnings, which gives you additional options. They can be up to 120 feet long to cover a terrace and latest technology means they can be opened and closed at the touch of a button.
The company not only sells umbrellas and awnings but will work with you on the design to get the best out of your space.
Turn up the heat
If you are going to make maximum use of your umbrellas, you will need some kind of outdoor heating. The two work together, the canvas trapping the heat and helping to create a cosy atmosphere on a chilly evening.
Many pubs have already had great service from the familiar mushroom-shaped gas-fired patio heaters, whether they are plumbed into the mains or use gas canisters, but technology has moved on, and there is a shift towards quartz infra-red lamps. They can be fixed to a wall or, if you have a good quality giant umbrella, clamped to the struts under the canvas.
Surrey-based garden furniture company Motif has recently designed and built its own infra-red lamps to take advantage of the new opportunity.
"Our marketing is very much angled at al fresco dining this year," said the company's Ray Gurr. "There isn't much that's new in garden furniture, to be honest. We are very conservative in this country. But with good umbrellas, heaters and perhaps side-sheets to help retain the heat, licensees can offer their customers the chance to eat outdoors all year round."
A quartz infra-red lamp, he says, will keep up to 30 people comfortably warm, and a package deal of a lamp plus giant umbrella works out at about £3,000 to buy.
The electric heaters are cheap to run - Ray estimates about 30p an hour - and they have certain other advantages over traditional gas patio heaters.
They are safer - "people won't feel they have to throw beer mats at them and they can't be knocked over", they don't take up any floor space and, significant for a high quality food operation, they are odourless.
They are also simple to operate, coming on at the flick of a switch, and you don't have to wait for them to warm up.
The Motif heaters also include halogen floodlights to complete the effect.
Lighting is another consideration of course, and done well it can make your garden look like an even more enticing place to have a drink.
Out in all weathers
They're a tough lot up in Tyne & Wear as everyone knows. Even so, 300 people at a New Year's Eve barbecue in a pub garden when temperatures are plunging to minus five celsius is surely stretching the limits of human endurance.
What made it possible, of course, is the four giant umbrellas that shelter the open courtyard at the River Bar in Washington - plus some temporary heating.
"New Year's Eve was our first big night under cover," said Stuart Young, operations manager at the pub and restaurant. "The umbrellas create a fantastic atmosphere."
The umbrellas, bought from Indigo, went up last summer and attracted new custom straight away, especially among families. "We were getting two or three generations sitting out there together, eating and drinking," said Stuart.
This year should be even better, though. Electrical wiring is being extended so that quartz heaters can be installed to lengthen the unpredictable North East summer.
Stuart hopes the garden will be busy from Easter right through to the autumn and is forecasting it will add at least 10 per cent to turnover as people are tempted to stay longer on chilly evenings.
The River Bar will be taking full advantage of the opportunity. Speakers will be installed to provide music and an oriental chef has been hired to produce a new menu that will add a range of Chinese dishes to the current pizzas and give a clear alternative to the Italian restaurant upstairs.
"We are expecting a lot of al fresco dining this year," said Stuart.
"We have also just won a midnight extension on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights after a long battle with the courts and the heating will guarantee it stays warm and cosy under the umbrellas right through to closing time."
