Jazz Sunday lunches
Where: the Kingsbridge Inn, Totnes, Devon
?.thekingsbridgeinn.co.uk
The idea: When restaurateur Mark Annear took over at the Kingsbridge Inn in September 2006, he had grand plans for the 17th-century pub. His aim was to provide a great dining experience as an affordable luxury, and he came up with the idea of offering a jazz band for a relaxed Sunday lunchtime experience. Linking up with locally-renowned band, Three Piece Suit, Mark set about creating a downtown New York atmosphere, offering customers Bucks Fizz, newspapers and good coffee.
How it works: The band plays every Sunday, between 12.30pm and 3.30pm, in the contemporary restaurant and cocktail bar that Mark opened in June last year after converting the coach house adjacent to the pub. The lunch sessions attract between 60 and 70 customers each week; some coming to listen to the band, read the papers and have a drink; others to soak up the music whilst eating from the pub's modern British menu, on which local roast meats rub shoulders with dishes such as sea bream with vanilla mash and mussels from nearby Teignmouth.
Business benefit: Mark advertises the jazz sessions both internally, on the pub's menus, and externally resulting in a good size audience each week.
"The key is to make sure the atmosphere and attention to detail is as near perfect as possible," Mark explains. He has also found that the lunchtime jazz sessions have encouraged people to think about having private parties with the band providing the entertainment - an area of the business that Mark is keen to promote.
Top tip on making the idea work: Use a well-known local band with a following.
