Taking the bull by the horns
Ewan Turney reports how an £800,000 investment by Geronimo Inns transformed the crumbling Bullfinch in Sevenoaks, Kent, into a modern, food-led venue
Background
Bullfinch: Located in the affluent town of Sevenoaks, Kent, the Bullfinch was formerly a Spirit-owned carvery venue that had suffered from a lack of investment. Trade was minimal.
"It was appalling - rotten almost through," says Geronimo Inns managing director
Rupert Clevely. "But I knew the area, as I grew up here, and could see its potential. Also it was a freehold site - and those are hard to come by."
Geronimo made the Bullfinch its 18th pub in February.
Geronimo Inns: The food-led operator was formed in 1995 when former international marketing director for Veuve Cliquot Champagne Rupert Clevely bought the Chelsea Ram in London for £38,000. Since then the business has grown to an estate of 19 - the latest acquisition being the Red Barn in Lingfield, Surrey.
Karen and Steve Jordan: The managers at the Bullfinch were head-hunted from Spirit Group, where they managed a Chef & Brewer outlet. They have 14 years of trade experience and Steve is a former Royal Navy submarine chef. "The people are so crucial to this business," says Clevely.
Challenge
The refurbishment was the biggest single investment by Geronimo at £800,000 and smashed its original budget. "We faced every challenge you could possibly think of here," says Clevely.
"We had a surveyor in and came up with an estimate, but the end result was almost triple that figure. It may have been easier to bulldoze the place. We knew it was bad, but didn't know just how bad. If you'd pushed the restaurant wall, it would have fallen over."
Alarmingly, most of the pub had no foundations and they had to be dug out. Also, the drains from the kitchen did not lead anywhere. "They wondered why it kept getting flooded." But Clevely maintains it is a good investment. "It's a freehold and should repay us handsomely."
Kitchen
The kitchen is crucial to Geronimo's pubs. "We spent £2,000 on the kitchen at our first pub - you just couldn't get away with that these days.
"The kitchen is absolutely vital - we are selling more and more food and if you don't get the kitchen right you haven't got a chance.
"Spending time, money and effort on getting that right is crucial - and people's expectations are so much greater now."
Costs: £80,000
Fireplace
The central fireplace is the signature card
for Geronimo pubs. However, on this occasion the fireplace proved a costly addition. A stream runs underneath the pub and nine steel pylons had to be inserted underneath which smashed the original budget for the fireplace.
Fireplace: £25,000
Garden
The Bullfinch garden has been designed primarily with dining in mind and includes a gourmet barbecue, newly-planted trees and seating for up to 50 covers on a decked terrace.
There is also a large outside facility
for smokers, with heaters and a canopy to provide shelter.
"I was so depressed about the smoking ban two years ago that I considered giving it all up and getting out," says Rupert.
"But I was persuaded otherwise and generally the ban has been quite good for
us so far. We'll know more when it starts to
get cold."
There are also plans afoot for the Bullfinch to host a farmers' market in the garden once a month.
Costs: £40,000
Dining
Rupert Clevely feels it is more important to have a distinct dining area in rural pubs and less so in London. "It's what people expect," he says.
The busiest trading times at the Bullfinch are Thursday lunch through to Sunday lunch.
Produce is sourced locally and freshly prepared on-site. A new plat rapide - which offers a choice of two or three courses which are smaller in size but delivered at the same time - is proving a success at lunch times.
F&F costs: £80,000
Design
Rupert's wife, Jo, took care of the design,
as she has done on all Geronimo's projects. "Jo spends her life sourcing materials,"
says Rupert.
"Whenever we open a site she is inundated with calls and emails asking where we found this and that."
However, Jo declines to reveal where they came from. "We get people from other pubcos phoning and pretending to be customers," says Rupert. "We don't want them pinching all our ideas after Jo spent so long sourcing them."
He insists that Geronimo pubs are not
a brand and there is certainly no template
to follow.
"Each pub is different and it has to be that way because they are in various locations and attract different people. It has to be different due to the very nature of being a pub."
One important aspect of the design is that there are three distinct areas - bar, seating and dining.
Bar
The operator feels it is important to be fully integrated in the community, so the bar trade is very important. "You always want to have a good group of locals. You need a nice and cosy atmosphere at the bar," he says.
Geronimo has plumped for an array of comfy sofas to help create that feel. It plans to launch a Local Hero initiative to further strengthen the links with the local community.
Local people will be nominated for the award and, in conjunction with the local media and councillor, a winner will be announced at a party at the Bullfinch. Geronimo will donate a prize to a charity of the winner's choice.
"The pub has to have a heart and a soul
in the local community," says Clevely. "The more you support them, the more they support you."
Costs: £40,000
Results
"The most important thing in a pub refurb is creating the right atmosphere, so that the place feels great, whether it is full or empty," says Rupert.
"I feel really strongly about putting atmosphere first and then customer flows. If you can only fit in 130, go for that, rather than squeezing in 150.
Geronimo has achieved its goal of creating a stylish, contemporary offer that maintains a real pub feel.
It's still early days for the pub which reopened in June, but trade is starting to pick up.
"As with everything else in business, it isn't easy - otherwise everyone would be doing it.
"The Bullfinch is growing and it needs a bit more time," says Rupert.
The refurbishment is constantly evolving and being re-assessed.
"It's not about checklists but about spending time here and knowing what is right.
"I've been in this game long enough to have a real feel for it now," he adds.
Geronimo now moves on to a refurbishment project at the newly-acquired Red Barn in Lingfield, Surrey.
Balance sheet
]
Building Costs ?440,000
bar?40,000
toilets £?40,000
kitchen£?80,000
garden ?40,000
DECORATION?80,000
furnishings?80,000
Total ?800,000
