Pubs have had to adapt to appeal to female drinkers, and, as
When you discover a website called beerandtotty.co.uk you might be forgiven for wondering what you are about to let yourself in for. Fear not, it's nothing more sinister than a site designed to shed a fresh light on the female-friendly bar world! All Bar One led the revolution in this multi-million-pound marketplace, providing bright and airy town-centre bars, designed to appeal to the fairer sex. That was nine years ago. Today, accommodating wo-men in pubs takes more than just a few flowers dotted around the place women want comfortable surroundings, they want to be able to feel safe and they want to enjoy good drinks and food with friends and family. Pub-going, which was once a male-dominated recreation, has had to adapt to meet the demands of today's consumers, and that includes women. Many have plenty of disposable income as employment rights see the shift towards equal pay for both sexes. And if you attract women through your doors, then men will fall in behind eager to do that chivalrous thing and "buy the lady a drink". It's little surprise then, that pubs and bars up and down the country have vastly improved the atmosphere and ambience that they offer, throughout the day and into the night, seven days a week. It's not all about the big names on the high street either. Sub-urban and rural pubs are doing their bit too, as standards rise across the pub industry, with drinkers refusing to accept sloppy service, poor quality and bad-value food and drink. All Bar One has now grown into a nationwide chain of 53 outlets. It's part of Mitchells & Butlers' brand portfolio and spokesperson Janice Clark says it will continue to develop and evolve to keep it "contemporary, modern and relevant" for over 21s. "They have a modern, open and airy design with big windows, which is particularly seen by women as appealing and safe. The emphasis is on a comprehensive wine and food offer, which is displayed on large chalkboards." The food has evolved since 1994 when the first All Bar One opened its doors in Sutton, Surrey and now reflects the seasons and offers modern trends, such as sharing platters. Other developments have been the introduction of soft furnishings, leather sofas and plants to give the brand an even more comfortable and appealing air. "All Bar One has always appealed to women, but it's now equally popular with both sexes. It's seen as a cosmopolitan bar to appeal to men and women," Clark adds. The brand sits comfortably in city centres, business areas, and leisure complexes attracting professionals and tourists alike. It captures the business lunch, after-work drinks and snacks market, as well as customers looking for a night out eating and drinking. And another feather in its cap? Well, type All Bar One into an internet search engine and you're directed to a number of pages within the beerandtotty.co.uk website. If that isn't proof that's it's firmly-established in the female-friendly market, however you perceive it, then I don't know what is. Rupert Clark, operations manager at Fuller's Inns, responsible for style bar brands like Fine Line and One of 2, believes that making your bar appealing to the fairer sex is incremental for business. "I don't think it would alienate men to create a bar that's female-friendly. It's important to have good lighting and use colours that refract and reflect the light to make the whole bar feel open. Light colours also help it feel bigger. And you need comfortable seating. Soft fabrics are good for women in shirt sleeves, whereas men may tend to be in suits. Also having seating and tables at the right height will make women wearing skirts feel more comfortable." Picking your staff is important too, as women will feel more at home with like-minded staff. "It automatically will make them feel more at ease," explains Clark. "Creating a feature, whether it's a large fish tank, big displays of flowers or open-plan kitchen would all help, because people like to see entertainment while they are out. Seeing their food and drinks prepared in front of them will also reassure women, so move drinks preparation to the front of bar instead of the back." Fuller's style bars have tailored their food menus to appeal to women as well, featuring lighter snacks, healthy-eating options and reflecting the seasons in the outside world. Wines too are all served by the glass and staff have good product knowledge to help customers pick out a wine to their taste and to suit different occasions. "Female-friendly" is a much-maligned phrase these days in the industry and with customers too, it seems (certainly as a woman, I cringe when the two f words are mentioned). But while the likes of All Bar One, Pitcher & Piano and Ha! Ha! Bar & Canteens are among those tagged as "ff", it's not something that they now use as a unique selling point. Yes, they appeal to women, but not at the expense of male customers. "It's much more about accessibility," says Philip Harrison of Harrison Design, which has worked with the All Bar One brand from its birth. "It's not a question of female-friendly. It is not gender specific, it's customer-attitude specific. Lots of blokes didn't like going into unknown, sweaty, dark and dingy pubs. But there's no tension, as such, when you can see what you are walking into so the big windows, light and airy bars all go towards the accessibility of the venue." In the past, there was the traditional pub and the wine bar the rise of style bars (which are customer-friendly) filled the gap in the market that was crying out for quality outlets to eat and drink. "Ten or so years ago, there were no style bars," Harrison explains, "All Bar One, and the likes, broke that mould with their lightness, brightness and airiness ultimately their accessibility. You can see from the street what you are going into." While he firmly believes the traditional pub has its place in society even these have had to adapt to meet the more discerning consumer of the 21st century. He's the first to admit the very nature of buildings and locations don't necessarily lend themselves to big open windows at the front. Those with listed building status can't go knocking big windows into their frontages. But he says suburban and rural licensees tenants, lessees and freetraders can make subtle changes to make their pub more appealing. Umbrellas in the garden, nice planting or hanging baskets and window boxes, efficient table clearing so dirty plates and glasses are not left to pile up, all help increase a bar's appeal to customers regulars and passers-by. Yes, you can still have those dark, moody areas inside, they have their place, but use subtle messages such as signage and so on to attract customers through your doors in the first place. Entice and reassure them that they are entering a quality establishment it's no good having the best food, drink and service inside if people don't know it's there. Harrison says it's a question of balance weighing up the traditional values of a pub and adopting the service standards and professionalism expected by today's consumers. Different types of seating all help while the leather sofa and soft furnishings have become more commonplace, in Harrison's experience, people feel more comfortable sitting at high tables rather than low ones, as you feel "less threatened" if other customers join you. "I'm very reluctant to talk about female-friendly, it's a much-maligned phrase, there are a lot of single people who go out and they need to feel comfortable in places, cohabiting on a table with others. It's less of an issue to look at design per se than it is about the experience and ensuring high service standards. You can spend £10,000 or £1m on a refurbishment, but it accounts for nothing if you get the actual service wrong." He finishes on a cautious note: "The danger is to copycat and cherry-pick bits of other retailers' operational styles. You have got to come up with your own offer it's the freshness, lightness, airiness and high standards that people want today." And that's true whether you're a woman or a man.
