A good sign

Our adopted pub celebrates its first year

in business. Lucy Britner reports

It's the details Penny and James don't think to mention that have made the Crown Inn, in Dial Post, West Sussex, so successful. At 9am on a Monday morning the pub's coming to life. There's an Argentine family, staying in the pub's two letting rooms, eating breakfast in the bar and Penny's busy making extra toast. James is already in his whites and they both stop to wave at the driver of a passing car. Penny's talking about the new lights and how she dims them as the sun sets to add to the atmosphere, and the pair refer to their customers as friends.

With 12 months of trading under their belt and £100,000 more turnover achieved than forecast, the newly wedded Mr and Mrs Middleton-Burn still seem modest about their achievements.

"There are a lot of couples that take on places and they just don't seem to make it work. I'm not really sure why," says Penny.

But not everyone has her attention to detail. PubChef has tracked the couple's progress for a year and the dynamic duo seem to be the contemporary answer to the old-fashioned landlord and landlady partnership, with James in the kitchen and Penny out front.

"The wedding in June was fantastic, the girls from mum's livery yard dressed in black and white and waited on us and we had a fantastic pig roast," says Penny. The couple honeymooned in Florence, Italy, and dined at three Michelin-starred restaurant Enoteca Pinchiorri.

"It was amazing, every mouthful was a delight, but the bill was £500!" they say, laughing. Just shy of a month before their venture's first birthday, the pair made a profit. For any business to break even in the first year is good going, but to turn a pub that was making £150,000 a year into one set to turn over in excess of £400,000 is no mean feat.

"The turnover has been the biggest surprise for us. We knew we could make a successful business out of the Crown, but we didn't anticipate that it would be this successful in its first year. The vision that I had is the one that is here, in front of me," says James.

"But you also have to be prepared for what it means to be the boss. The buck really does stop here. The hardest lesson I've learnt is not sign up to long-term utilities contracts."

Since our last chat in April, the couple have scaled down their grand plans. "We spoke to a builder who was more practical and we've decided we don't need to make so many changes. We're still going to extend the kitchen, refurbish the toilets and open out the downstairs restaurant," says Penny. Although they haven't set a budget for this yet, Penny reckons around £100,000 should cover it.

A sign of the times

The pub has been treated to a new sign and James says it sends out an entirely different message. "It's still the Crown but the sign is more contemporary, and I think it says something about the pub and what customers can expect to find inside."

Penny and James have also introduced fish and chips on a Friday evening. "Commercially, it isn't something we needed to do," says James. "But it's something we wanted to do for the community. We sold nine portions in the first week and we did it because we thought it would be something we'd like, as villagers." The nearest fish and chip shop is three miles away and Penny says the locals stay for a drink when they collect their fish suppers.

In the kitchen

Penny and James try to get out to investigate other pubs, which, James says, he learns from. "We went to gastropub the Ginger Pig in Hove, East Sussex, and the food there is great. The menu is really clever and I have picked up some lessons from them. For example, their presentation is very simple. We used to serve our terrine with garnish, but places such as the Ginger Pig have taught me to have the confidence to say that the terrine is so good, all you need is the toast and chutney."

But James doesn't believe places like the Ginger Pig and his pub are in the same market. "We're not competing with them at all. People either go out for an Indian, a Chinese or a Ginger Pig-type meal or they go down the pub. We're the pub. I think we represent real value here. We don't intend to whack the prices up now that we've been here a year, though I had to put £1 on the steak (now £14) because I was selling too many!

"One thing we do share with places like that is the ethics. We're into local, fresh produce and unfussy dishes. We are also taking part in British Food Fortnight."

Locally-shot rabbits cost James a few pints of beer and will appear on the new Monday night two-dishes-for-£10 menu. The initiative has proved to be a great way of keeping a traditionally quiet night busy. There is also a quiz in the bar on the same evening.

"We regularly have 20 bookings for a Monday and about the same walk-ins," says Penny. Despite holding a successful Burns Night back in January, the couple have decided against hosting lots of theme evenings.

"We don't really need to have theme nights because we're so busy. Plus people don't want something going on in their local all the time," says Penny.

Instead the couple are focusing on smaller, bespoke events such as a wine and food

tasting and a beer and food-matching evening, using local and regional brewers.

On the menu

Pork belly has become very popular, served with local, seasonal veg and red cabbage. James says: "I know it seems to be in vogue with the gastros at the moment, but it really is flying out. It has overtaken steak as the most popular dish on the menu. I slow roast it for six hours at least and then flash roast when needed."

James's sirloin burgers made from steak trimmings are also very popular. Out of 40 covers one Friday lunchtime, 17 ordered burgers. The couple have also introduced sharing dishes onto the menu, after customer demand. "We did Chateaubriand for five the other week. It was great because that was five covers I didn't have to think about. We have also introduced an assiette of puddings - this varies depending on what's on the menu, but might include crème brûlée, crumble, cheesecake and ice cream (£8)."

Smoke ban

Penny says she has noticed a few new faces in the bar, despite the pub having been smoke free since they took over before the ban.

"A lot of people come in and say how much better it is after the ban and I think, 'Well, clearly you haven't been in here before!' I think the ban has brought in a few new faces."

Staff

Although the pub is doing nearly twice as many covers as when it first opened, Penny has found she needs less staff. "We know how to do things a lot easier than we did a year ago, and I think people enjoy our relaxed manner. What I want now is an assistant manager - someone who is interested in being a part of something and making a career - like a person with a degree in leisure and tourism or something."

What's next?

James is finding time to enter industry awards and Penny is relieved not to have a wedding to plan. "We're going to keep doing what we're doing. We're so busy, there's little time to sit and think of grand plans, but we don't really need one. We're happy and hopefully a few industry accolades will follow. We want to encourage our trainees to enter too; it's important that they have something to work towards," says James.

Happiness index

Satisfaction rating: Eight out of 10. "There are still changes we would like to make but we can't complain about how busy we are!"

Average hours worked a week: 80

Days off: None for a while as staff have been taking holiday. One day off if they can manage it.

Stress levels: "It's so nice not to have a wedding to plan. We are both a lot less stressed than we were."

Facts 'n' stats

Wet:dry split: 30:70

Weekly turnover: £10,000 to £12,000 |