Refurbishment & interiors: case study - the Master Robert

Pualine Davey and partner Tim Smith are prime examples of how drive, ambition and determination can see you through a lengthy refurb programme and not only increase trade but help you win an award for your hard work and effort.

An Enterprise Inns leasehold in the village of Buriton, a few miles from Petersfield, Hampshire, Pauline and Tim took over the Master Robert Inn more than two years ago armed with a three-year plan to make their mark on the pub and the local community.

They reached their goal 12 months earlier than expected and were named overall winner in the 2006 Calor Rural Pub in the Community Award.

The Master Robert is a great example of how refurbishing your pub is not only about making it comfortable and looking nice. It shows that a

refurbishment can also be a dynamic force in remodelling every aspect of the business to make it more competitive.

"I fell in love with the pub as soon as I saw it, but I had some very clear ideas about how I wanted to change it," says Pauline. "We have been through three stages of refurbishment and now feel as though we've reached the point we were aiming for - and we're delighted it's taken less time than we planned."

The £300,000 refurb programme was funded partly by Enterprise Inns and partly from the couple's personal savings.

In the initial stage exterior walls and windows were painted which immediately had the effect of making the pub more welcoming and attractive to passers by. The second phase saw the creation of an outdoor patio area and the final stage was the interior refurb, the longest and most disruptive stage.

This has included a change in the kitchen layout, the removal of interior walls, the creation of a new dining area double the size of the original - and a new website launched to promote the redesigned pub (www.masterrobertinn.co.uk).

Separate bar and restaurant menus have been created as Pauline felt the new pub was attracting two very different types of customer.

"The restaurant can now cater for 48 covers and since the opening we have been very busy," she says. "We have six bedrooms above the pub and the restaurant is popular with guests staying overnight.

"At the same time our location on the edge of the South Downs Way means we attract a lot of ramblers and walkers who want a light lunch, so they have the bar menu to choose from."

Because the walk-in refrigerated store was removed to create more space for the restaurant the kitchen was redeveloped and equipment - including a Falcon six-burner and oven, Lincat double fryer, a cabinet fridge and an extractor unit - installed to ensure the chef could deliver the dishes on the new menu.

The refurb also extended to the cellar, where Tim's favourite piece of equipment is the Accellarate Intelligent Gas System that provides the CO2 and has an automatic link to the supplier which monitors gas levels and make a delivery when required.

"I will never have to change the gas ever again," says Tim. "And when we're away we don't have to worry about the health and safety implications of training someone else to change the gas."

Pauline and Tim closed the pub for seven weeks while the work was carried out which enabled them to organise an official reopening party with live entertainment.

"I contacted every household in the village with special offers such as a free drink with a meal using cards and vouchers so I could monitor the redemption rate," explains Pauline.

"We've had great support from the local press, both for the changes we've made at the pub and for our Calor award and they cover a lot of our events and celebration evenings. My work with the local council and committees has led to radio interviews and I even delivered a speech at the House of Commons on the importance of rural pubs - all good publicity for our pub."

The timing of the refurb has given the couple the opportunity to implement a smoking ban in advance of the country-wide ban coming into force.

"The fact we had already developed a patio area with the Calor patio heater we received as part of our prize for the community pub award meant that we could make the pub smoke-free from the moment we opened after the refurb," explains Pauline.

"It would have been difficult to implement a ban a few months down the line when customers had got used to smoking at the bar."

Pauline has now offered her services to Enterprise Inns as a mentor for people starting up in the pub business.

"Knowing that Enterprise wants to make an example of our pub and winning the Calor award for being the best rural community pub in the country makes us very proud and we feel all our efforts have been worthwhile. We definitely made the right decision in taking the pub on," she says.A real community local

Between the main stages of redevelopment, Pauline and Tim saw an opportunity to create an additional revenue stream, replace a much needed village resource - and win a community award.

The village had lost its corner shop and post office before they took over the pub and Pauline had always planned to convert the small function room into a local store.

Not only is the shop regularly open for villagers, but Pauline and Tim also offer to deliver supplies to local residents who are housebound or elderly, something which impressed the judges in the Calor Rural Pub in the Community Award who named the Master Robert Inn the overall winner in the 2006 competition.