Plough's yields are on the rise

The East Sussex pub has reaped a productive first year, but its licensees seek more growth. EWAN TURNEY reports

The Plough had been a private house for four years when Peter Neumark-Payne banged on the door and made the vendor an offer he couldn't refuse. 'I can remember coming here for a couple of pints years ago and had fond memories of it, says Neumark-Payne, a pub veteran of 14 years.

After two-and-a-half months of hard graft, with business partner Martin Harris, the pub re-opened. Having just completed its first year of trading it's time for reflection and things have gone well so far. 'Trade has been beyond our expectations, he says. 'We have taken between £5-6,000 a week, so it has not been bad at all.

The pub is set in a quiet rural village close to the tourist centre of Rye and just a little further from Battle, Hastings and Camber. It has a good base of local support, topped up by tourists staying at surrounding bed and breakfasts. It has even started to attract more custom away from Rye because of its personalised service.

'Customers always get a personal service here and we always stop and welcome people, Neumark-Payne explains. 'That is our strength along with quality food, good beers and a good atmosphere because there are no fruit machines or televisions. I think it is an oasis really. Very calming.

The blackboard main menu is updated daily, but four dishes are always on offer, such as beer and steak pie and rack of lamb. In all, there are always five starters, nine main courses and four puddings. All the food is sourced locally and Neumark-Payne is proud of the fact that they do not have a frozen food supplier. The only two foods they buy frozen are prawns and ice cream. Fresh fish comes straight from the boats in Rye.

At Easter, a patio was added to the rear, which has so far been a huge success. On bank holidays, Neumark-Payne's team run outside events on the patio complete with a pig spit roast and live blues band.

Although the Plough is trading above expectations for its first year, there are two areas of growth the team would like to concentrate on in the coming year the snack menu and marketing.

The main menu from the blackboard has quality stamped all over it, but as Neumark-Payne admits: 'We are underselling ourselves on the bar snacks menu.

The menu was hastily thrown together upon opening and is ready for a revamp. At present it sticks to traditional lunchtime dishes such as home-made soups, sandwiches and a choice of ploughmans.

Lunchtime covers can range from six to 25, but there is a core of lunchtime drinkers who may be tempted by a more enticing snack menu.

'I don't think I've ever worked at a pub where we've done as few ploughmans as we have here, he says. 'The presentation of the menu isn't good either. It's something we cobbled together at the beginning.

The snack menus are currently printed on a plain, laminated A4 sheet and kept at the bar. Ideas already afloat include shifting the best-selling items from the blackboard to the snacks menu to expand the range.

Neumark-Payne says: 'We have to keep it fairly simple as we have not got loads of room to hold stocks. We want to make it a bit more interesting.

'Like the sandwiches yes you can have a cheese sandwich, but you can also have a goat's cheese sandwich or avocado. We also get different types of quality bread in.

'We want to boost lunchtimes and fill customer gaps. At weekends we often have to turn people away because we are full, and we are hoping some of them might try us in the week.

The pub

The Plough, Cock Marling

Udimore, East Sussex

Turnover:£270,000

Wet:dry split: 45%:55%

Covers: 40 on a Saturday evening

150 barrels/year

Average spend

per head: £20

Beers: IPA, Abbot Ale, Ringwood

Wine: £800 per week

What the experts suggest...

Ann Elliott established Elliott Independent, a small marketing consultancy, in 2001 to offer advice to improve sales and profitability

You want to drive your snacks business and you have lots of potential to increase lunchtime covers. You are starting from a great base fresh, high-quality food, sourced locally and a good reputation for personal, friendly service. That's brilliant.

At lunchtime you'll have three key target markets workers, the retired and women (perhaps men). Usually they want lighter dishes or just one course. Most of them will only have around an hour so quick service is crucial.

Your excellent blackboard menu should stay as is. The snack menu must offer the same high-quality food but feature a range of lighter/cheaper dishes, for example, small and large plates of the same dish. Add in some low-carb menu items and include some wonderful Plough signature dishes.

I would print your snack menu on high-quality paper, change it regularly, put it on every table and encourage customers to take it away. Use it to communicate your beliefs about great quality, local food and write tempting dish descriptions.

Create awareness through PR, talking to local businesses and encouraging word of mouth recommendations the rest will follow.

Anthony Mears is the owner and director of award-winning free house the Ivy House in Chalfont St Giles, Bucks

It sounds like the first year has been a great success, especially when you think that virtually all new businesses lose money in their first year no mean achievement for a pub which had been closed for four years.

The important thing to do now is to work out your unique selling point and what it is you do best then do more of it and then tell everyone that you are doing it. So when looking at the lunchtime menu you must have a very clear idea of who your target market is and how you can exceed their expectations.

So if, for example, the target market is ladies who lunch and tourists, then speed of service probably isn't the major issue, but value for money and something light, probably is. So in this case, you may well go for fresh, interesting salads, typically local produce such as seafood, like sole, crab cakes, a pint of prawns or mussels. But if you wish to attract more of the drinkers to eat, then you may go for quality at a low price, such as cod and chips, bangers and mash.

All in all, know your intended market, target what they want in terms of offering, price and quality then do it well, very well. Use any form of marketing available to you, but the most reliable is always word of mouth, so make it so well-tuned that they have to spread the word for you.