Food and investment boosts pub income
Former BII Licensee of the Year Alison Carter tells EWAN TURNEY how she and husband Clive Mansell enhanced the food offer - and spent £150,000 on redecoration - to more than treble takings at the Bayview Inn on Widemouth Bay, Cornwall, in less than two years
How I got here
By accident! I suppose the writing was on the wall though - my favourite subject at school was cookery. My first job in a bar was when I was at university. It was save-as-you-earn! I was one side of the bar serving drinks, earning and socialising, rather than being on the other and spending all the money.
I had a spell working for Gibbs Mew brewery before I met my husband, Clive Mansell, who was running the Ship Inn in Whites Hill, Owslebury, and joined him in 1994 on a Greene King lease. On 25 February 2004, we bought the Bayview Inn freehouse. It was decrepit and was grossing £250,000 a year. We have built that up to £850,000.
Why my business is successful
1. Food offer - Previously it was limited to frozen lasagne so we 'bigged up' the food offer. We have two award-winning chefs and have just won the Cornish Dining Pub of the Year award for 2005. It is all local produce - about 50% of our produce comes from within a five-mile radius of the pub. It is quality like I have never seen before. Our signature dishes are our burgers and the Aberdeen Angus beef is hung for three weeks. It has proper taste and texture, unlike the processed garbage full of salt that's around these days.
2. Making the most of the environment - The pub is an ugly building but the location is beautiful. Just 100 yards away is the Atlantic ocean and a wonderful surfing beach, so it is quite a contrast. The pub was more like a working men's club but we spent £150,000 and made the best of it. We made it as light and airy as possible and added an 80ft Ã- 20ft decking area outside where people can watch the sun go down over the sea. We used the environment to our best advantage; before, it was just a car park.
3. Atmosphere - The place is always buzzing and that comes from so many facets, from the design to the music, to the candles on tables and fresh flowers, to the events we run and the gourmet food.
4. Partnership - Although I am the boss, I wouldn't have been able to do anything without my husband. He contributes a hell of a lot.
My best business idea
A bouncy castle. We invested £6,000 in a huge 40ft Ã- 20ft bouncy castle and it has more than paid for itself. You can almost hear the kids' excitement as they drive past on their way to the beach. When they have finished at the beach, parents are under so much pressure to bring the kids in. They get five minutes peace and the kids have fun. It has proved one of the best marketing tools.
My marketing strategy
1. Frog Club - When we took over the previous owner had a members' club called the Frog Club. They paid £10 to join and got 10p off a pint. There were about 50 members. We have changed that and membership has been upped to £18 but they get 10% of a pint and food. Membership now stands at around 230.
2. Website - We spent £1,200 on a website and that was so important. We get so many enquiries about the letting rooms because we come up first on a Google search. It was money well spent.
3. Customer database - With their permission, we log all customers on our computer and then we can mail them a list of events and special offers. Last Christmas, we sent out over 800 personalised Christmas cards and got loads of emails back saying they wished they could be with us.
4. Daily Telegraph eat out for a fiver -This has worked well in the off season as locals take advantage of it. They come in for lunch for a fiver but then you get all the bolt-ons like wine and coffee - and you get the repeat business.
My best events
1. Quizzes - Cornish people love quizzes. Clive runs them about once a month in the off season. They are touchy-feely quizzes. At Christmas we included tastings so we had a range of mince pies from Sainsbury's, Asda, Tesco and various other places and you had to guess which came from which. We did the same with sherry.
2. Fishing trips - In the summer, we take people out fishing, then they come back and have their fish cooked for them. That can't be bad - we make them catch their dinner, we cook it and then we charge them for it! That has to make good business sense.
My tips for new licensees
1. Treat a pub as a business - Remember it is a business not a lifestyle. You need proper business disciplines in place. It is such a sociable job it is easy to get sidetracked.
2. Train yourself - Don't ever think you know everything. The people that annoy me most are those that say: 'I've been in the business for 20 years. I know everything there is to know.' It is simply not true; there are always things you can learn from other people, other businesses or from courses.
3. Sense of humour - When problems occur if you can laugh about them afterwards, learn to laugh at the time as well. It will make your life a lot easier. There is no point getting stressed out if the situation is out of your hands.
How I plan to grow the business
I want to make the most of the new licensing hours. In the summer months we will have a dedicated late-shift team in place. They will start at 9pm and work till 1.30am. They will be fresh so if there are any problems, they can deal with them. The temptation with extended hours is just to make existing staff work longer, but that is not practical.
The other thing we will do is late-night food takeaways. There are a lot of camp sites nearby and if people fancy a curry on the way home, we might as well be the ones to provide it. Also we are converting two old stables into self-catering cottages.
My Pub
Wet:dry:accommodation split: 37:55:8
Turnover: £850,000 a year (gross)
Wage bill: 27% of weekly turnover
GP: 60 to 65% on food and drink, but on the increase
Awards: BII Licensees of the Year 2003 (at the Ship Inn), Morning Advertiser Family Pub of the Year 2003 (Ship Inn), Cornish Dining Pub of the Year 2005 (Bayview Inn)
