A slice of the action

So, how was it for you? Almost 12 months have elapsed since the new licensing laws were introduced, giving pubs in England and Wales a huge opportunity to expand their food offering.

Enterprising licensees, pub groups and independent operators have embraced the chance to serve food all day and most of the night in an attempt to replicate the café

culture of our European cousins.

It's now possible to start the day with breakfast in many pubs and continue eating and drinking until the small hours, but to what extent has this change in licensing laws impacted on the pub-food culture?

Geronimo Inns, which runs 15 London

gastropubs and has just opened its first country pub in Surrey, was quick to take advantage of longer drinking hours by offering bar snacks to customers when its main pub kitchens closed after dinner.

Geronimo operations director Ed Turner says that while the opportunity to serve food longer and later hasn't necessarily increased the company's turnover, it does mean that they are serving food when customers actually want it.

"We might have stopped serving food at 9.30pm before the new laws took effect - now we finish at 10.30pm, which works well for busy people working later hours," he said.

"The biggest benefit is that we're not just forcing people out quickly - they can sit back and relax with a nice cup of coffee. The whole experience is much more enjoyable for them and of course that's the highest priority for them and for us."

Managed operator JD Wetherspoon serves food in most of its pubs from opening time until 11pm, and the company has capitalised on the breakfast opportunity. Head of catering Rebecca Payton says: "Our pubs open at 9am - some open at 8am. Breakfast has become a big seller within Wetherspoon pubs and Lloyds bars."

Many industry figures believe the impending smoking ban means more licensees will take advantage of breakfast opening.

Heinz Foodservice senior brand manager Toby Barty says: "I particularly believe the introduction of the smoking ban will see more pubs opening for breakfast - they will have the opportunity to increase their food offering in a new, clean environment.

"However, it's important to offer quality. You only have to look at areas of growth in the retail sector to see that people want a good standard of breakfast food."

Ian Rayner is the co-owner of award-

winning Bristol pub the Albion. The venue has a well-established reputation for its food and its popularity has led to two evening restaurant sittings.

Ian has noticed that since the licensing laws changed, customers tend to be more relaxed about eating and enjoy spending more time dining.

"People are realising they don't have to drink and eat really quickly at the same time," he says.

"Our customers are appreciating the food and our service a lot more. And our customers like the fact that if they eat a bit later, they don't have to drink more before they sit down. They're enjoying the whole experience and we find that they're taking their time - essentially we offer them three or four hours to eat.

"Our food sales haven't necessarily gone up, but I think the level of food enjoyment has risen, particularly for those diners eating on the second sitting.

"For us it's great because we can upsell on our spirits. People eating late tend to go into our Grappa and our brandy ranges because they have more time to enjoy them. We concentrate quite heavily on those after-dinner sales."

Greene King food marketing controller Keith Ironside says that with the onset of extended licensing hours, many pubs in his estate have explored late-night food offers.

"The new legislation helped us crystallise what we should be doing in terms of offering food to our consumers," he said.

"If people are drinking in our pubs for longer, we have the opportunity to encourage them to spend more in our pubs through other means - and one of these is food."

One of the most successful offers at a number of Greene King pubs has been the introduction of pizzas between 8pm and last orders.

Keith says: "Rather than consumers

gravitating to places like pizza restaurants, fast-food outlets and kebab shops afterwards, they're more than happy to stay in the pub to eat, as long as you give them the right offer with the right quality at the right price."

He says the key to a successful late-night food offering is providing quality food that customers want and which can be produced when the main kitchen has closed.

"The benefit of pizza is that it's a relatively easy way to fulfil exactly what the consumers need in the 8pm-to-close period," he says.

"It doesn't involve a huge amount of preparation time or much crockery or cutlery. If you offer customers high-quality food at a similar or better-value price than they can find elsewhere, they'll go for it.

"We've managed to generate considerable incremental sales in that 8pm-to-close period, simply because we've provided the right offer in our pubs."

Keith says all the major operators and many of the independents are looking to maximise their revenue in their pubs.

He maintains there is a good opportunity to grow food sales in periods outside traditional mealtimes. "As long as you ensure you're providing the right offer and the right quality at the right price, it's a win-win situation for everybody because the consumers are getting what they want and the pubs are making more money."

However, many operators have seen their food business continue in the same fashion as before licensing reform.

As Hamish Stoddart, director of Peach Pub Company, says: "We haven't made any changes to our opening hours, although we had the opportunity.

"We have always been open all day and we still are. And we still stop our food operation at 10pm.

When the new laws were introduced, Hamish said the company considered extending hours in its town-centre pubs - especially the One Elm, in Stratford-Upon-

Avon in Warwickshire, where customers tend to sit down to dinner at 8.30 to 9pm.

"But when we thought about the number of extra hours the team would have to put in - front-of-house as well as kitchen - the effort involved outweighed the rewards."