South East

Riverside Tavern

Strood, Kent

Peter Foreman has seen good times and bad during almost six years of ownership of the Riverside Tavern. Difficulties have included regular flooding of the freehouse, which lies on the banks of the River Medway.

"Last year was the first that we haven't been flooded," says Peter.

On a more positive note, a string of new ideas have gone down well with an ever-increasing number of customers. Events are staged every night of the week, ranging from club nights, cabarets, quizzes and open mic sessions through to a "chatterbox" evening hosted by a drag queen every Wednesday.

Chatterbox = moneybox

The chatterbox nights have proved so successful that takings are currently up by 100% compared with a year ago, and almost on a par with the Saturday's club nights. Peter says the success is partly down to installing a new £35,000 DJ booth "with all the works" in the middle of the Riverside, which has helped create a more intimate atmosphere.

Although the Riverside hosts different styles of music every night, Peter and his 22-person crew are always thinking of trying something different, especially on quieter Sunday and Monday nights. Among the ideas floating around are regular rhythm and blues and Bollywood music nights.

"It's a question of 'we'll try it and see how people like it'. We aim to introduce something new every couple of months", he says.

Music for all moods

Peter adds: "It's important to us that we provide for a wide range of people - this is the drive behind having a wide range of entertainment offers. To support this, we have introduced a piece of equipment called Jellyfish, which allows us to co-ordinate the music levels anywhere in the building from one place. Clubbers can party in the dance room while the host entertains customers in the lounge bar and other customers enjoy our outdoor grill and BBQ, all with the appropriate ambience for their surroundings."