Unveiling a new dawn
When new licensees took over avillage pub in the Midlands they hadto end a tradition of lock-ins andcreate a reputation for food. But, asNigel Huddleston discovers, 20 months on, the future's looking much brighter The covered patio at the Muskham Inn is under several inches of water after a traditional English summer downpour. The problem is the pub is playing host to a big wedding tomorrow and the puddles are showing no sign of dissipating. For Rebecca Szamlewski and Martyn Drew it's the latest potential drama in a packed 20 months since taking over the pub, which stands on a roundabout on the A1 at the edge of the village of North Muskham, near Newark in Nottinghamshire. Taking it over just before Christmas 2002, they were faced with a local crowd used to lock-ins and genuinely shocked when they were told there wouldn't be any in the future. The kitchen was equipped with redundant pizza ovens and a carvery from failed food themes of the past. The pub was overstaffed and its team of 20 has now been trimmed down to just four, excluding the owners. "We worked out that the wage bill was in excess of £150,000," says Drew. "There were loads of staff working, but the people who owned it didn't really know what was going on. We cut it back to what the business actually needs. We don't want to pay a lot of money for staff who aren't doing anything." However, he does bemoan the problems of finding staff of the right calibre to help in the kitchen. It's pretty much a one-man operation for Drew himself as ads in local papers, job centres and on websites have come to nothing for the best part of a year. Front of house has been more fruitful, with what Szamlewski calls "a fantastic team" in place. Up to now, the bright and spacious restaurant remains unchanged, but the bar area has been given a makeover, with modern style-bar chic at a budget cost of under £40,000. Its refurbishment, and that of the kitchen and guest rooms, was done with some expert wheeler-dealing, bargains from high-street retailers like Ikea and odds and ends on eBay. Matching curtains for all 10 B&B rooms cost just £80. While the dining area still waits its turn for a relaunch, the menu was one of the first items to be addressed when the couple arrived, but a big food pub wasn't their original plan. Szamlewski says: "We started off with a criteria of no hotel rooms and no big restaurant." But when the Muskham Inn, formerly the Nelson Arms, came up, they could see the potential in terms of space and location. "We took a gamble," she says, "because there are three very traditional locals in the village, so we thought we could provide something different." Drew recalls the pub's food offering before they arrived: "There was two freezers full of frozen food and Brake Brothers trying to break down the door. We sourced some good local suppliers and got the menu to where we wanted it to be. "It was very boil-in-the-bag. We're still developing; the first menu we did was so basic compared to where we are now." The menu is changed every two to three months. "It makes it interesting so people have something to come back to," says Drew. "I used to work in an Italian restaurant and it's still doing exactly the same menu as it was nine or 10 years ago." The menu is what might be thought of as modern gastro pub, with mains ranging in price from £9 for vegetarian specials to £16 for fillet peppercorn steak. It's been a gradual process turning the local market on to a more upmarket and consistently high-quality offering. "The Baccleugh fillet is very expensive," says Drew, "but the taste is so out of this world you can't touch it. It's £16 but we haven't really built the business up to allow us to charge what we should for it. We had some Dover sole, which sold out at £21 each, so there are the people there willing to pay for good food." Functions have proved a good source of income and reputation-building, although the gypsy wedding that saw twice the 150 expected guests turning up put pressure on stocks and parking space. Tomorrow's wedding promises to be a more manageable affair. By the end of the interview the rain has stopped and there's a chink of sunlight through the grey. It looks like the day will be saved after all, and, for the Muskham Inn, the future looks a lot brighter all round. Spreading the word The stock answer that most licensees give when asked about their marketing is that there is none everything goes on word of mouth. The problem for Szamlewski and Drew when they took over the Muskham Inn was that some of the customers they had weren't the sort they wanted spreading the word. To communicate that the new management had taken the pub in a different direction needed other means. First up was an advertorial in the Newark Advertiser, followed by participation in dining-out promotions in the Radio Times, Daily Telegraph and The Times. In return for collecting coupons, customers could take advantage of offers along the lines of two courses and a glass of wine for £10, for example. Eager collectors came from as far afield as Essex and Sheffield. "It gives people a taste of what you do," says Szamlewski. "We don't make a lot of profit, but we raise the profile. It encourages people to come and see us who wouldn't have done otherwise. If they can see what we do, they'll come back." The pub also has its own tidy website, and has built up a database of 300 previous customers who are kept in touch with any new promotions and menu changes. Szamlewski says she has "a few things in the pipeline to drag people in". These include a new sign on the A1, heading southbound. "We've got one at the moment but it's a bit motorway service station with a picture of a knife and fork," says Drew. Selections from the menu Starters Chicken and fois gras terrine £5 Confit of duck £6 Haddock fishcakes £6 Mains Asparagus chicken £10 48-hour blade of beef £14 Porcini risotto £9 Stilton lamb rack £13 Osso bucco of pork £12 Desserts Braised peaches £4 Crème brûlée £4 Baked cherry pudding £4
