Community pub: the Weir factor

Licensee Jason Brown tells Noli Dinkovski how he and two business partners turned around the fortunes of the Weir pub, at Bridge of Weir near Glasgow, and in the process recreated its community atmosphere.

How we got here​

It really all came about thanks to a dinner table conversation between me, my fiancée, Jennifer, and a friend who is a chef, Andrew Barraclough. The three of us talked about how the pub had gone downhill, and in the process convinced ourselves we could return it to its past glories.

The pub, which was known as the Four Elements before we took it over, has been my local since I moved to Scotland 10 years ago.

It used to have a really vibrant atmosphere and great community spirit, and it was the main reason I stayed in the village instead of relocating to Glasgow.

Over the years the pub changed ownership many times and had suffered badly as a result.

We'd heard that Punch was interested in putting money into the place, so we decided to turn our conversation into reality.

The vision​

We always knew the building had untapped potential. For example, the restaurant part of the business had been shut for two years. There are restaurants in the village, but during the day there was nowhere to get a cup of coffee or a bacon roll — you would have to drive 15 miles to the nearest coffee shop.

That's why we decided to create a coffee lounge, which opens at 9am during weekdays.

We also have a breakfast and brunch menu, again available at 9am, followed by a pub classics and light-bites menu from noon. In fact, we serve food right throughout the day — with the pub trade the way it is, we knew that there was always an element of risk involved in our venture, so we were determined to utilise trading hours to the full.

The refurbishment​

Punch put £110,000 into the investment, most of which went towards the restaurant, We provided a further £90,000. We took over in March and closed the pub immediately. The refurbishment meant stripping everything back to the stone walls. We also knocked out walls, moved doors and toilets, inserted glass partitions and generally made the place much more airy. Before, it had quite a claustrophobic feel, which wasn't too bad in the evenings, but wasn't quite right during the day.

The look is traditional Scottish, but with a modern twist. There are still plenty of tartan colours going through the place, but rather than your traditional blacks and reds, there are purples and greys.

The village has an extremely mixed demographic, one end is very much millionaires' row while the other is a council estate, so we try to cater for both by putting our price point right in the middle. However, with the refurbishment we were aware that we could be giving the impression we were favouring one type of clientele over the other, so to minimise any culture shock we reopened the bar in mid-March, two weeks before the reopening restaurant. This also gave us time to deal with any unforeseen problems in the bar before worrying about the restaurant.

Food offer​

The food side of the business has been a huge success — we've actually been turning people away since we reopened the doors.

Andrew managed to get an assistant chef, Dean Gleeson, to come over from Australia to work for us. He specialises in making pastries for morning customers. We have a really comprehensive breakfast range, which includes a full breakfast for £5.45 and porridge for £2.95. The lunch menu includes hand-formed steak burgers for £6.95 and beer-battered cod at £7.95. Main courses on the bistro menu average around £10.

Pub promotion​

We've been really lucky in that we haven't had to do much advertising. In the week prior to reopening we did a flyer drop with a taster of the menus. We also launched our website, which received 3,500 hits in the first two weeks. Our plan is to advertise once a month in the local paper, showing what's on in the pub.

Other than that, I guess it's really just been word of mouth. We've made a point of speaking to all of the local businesses and people like taxi drivers and hairdressers — the kind of people that help spread information quickly around the place.

Our clientele is mainly people from the village, but increasingly we're seeing people come from farther afield. The village is on a commuter path to Glasgow and more and more who travel through often stop off at us, especially in the evening.

Community spirit​

As I mentioned, the pub was once very community led, and, thankfully, it's gradually getting back to the way it was.

In addition to the usual quiz nights and pool and darts leagues, events like open mic nights, live bands and karaoke are all helping to recreate the community feel. At the moment we are running a talent contest through our open mic and karaoke nights, where the best singer or musician will win a pair of T in the Park festival tickets.

I'm looking forward to our "Weir Factor" later in the year, where people will have a chance to display a variety of talents, whether that's dancing or their pets being able to walk around on their hind legs! It'll be very tongue-in-cheek and a bit of fun, but also a great way to fire the punters' imaginations.

There's also a gala week coming up later this month (June) with live bands and a free barbecue. Giving away a few free burgers is a way of saying thank you to those who have supported us in recent weeks without breaking the bank.

Looking ahead​

So far everything we've done with the Weir has been a hit, but we're not going to get complacent. We see things as very much a work-in-progress and we are continually engaging the locals as to how we can improve. We visit other pubs quite often to see what else is being done out there.

As a first foray into the pub trade, this was definitely an ideal project. We knew the village, we knew the clientele, and we knew what we wanted to do. The plan is to take on more pubs in good time.

I've looked at a fair few premises lately, many of which, although attractive, haven't been in the best locations.

Okay, you can have a pub near the Scottish Borders, which can pull in a great tourist trade during the summer, but in the winter you discover it's reliant on just a handful of local customers.

Finding outlets that are sustainable all year round is the key, and the Weir certainly fits that criteria.

Brown's tips for successful trading​

• Give people a safe, comfortable environment to drink in. This pub had gone so far the other way that people were scared to walk through the door

• Understand your customer base — although the Weir needed a lot of work, I knew the potential was there, having lived in the village for 10 years

• Don't get complacent — keep asking customers for feedback on ways the business can be improved

Facts 'n' stats​

Tenure: Punch leasehold (tied to lager and soft drinks)

Turnover before refurb: I was told by a member of staff who used to work here that they were lucky if they took £1,200 over the bar in a week. That's how dire it got

Current turnover: £7,000 per week

Wet:dry split: 45:55

Food GP: 65% to 75%

Wet GP: 58%

Dining covers: 55 in the bistro, we also have eating in the bar. Space for an extra 32 outside

Average covers: 35-40 at lunchtime; 55-80 in the evenings (depending on how quickly we can turn tables around)

Staff: 12

Projected staff wages as percentage of turnover: 25%

Average cost of a three-course meal: £15.95 (set meal)

Average cost of a pint: Stella £3.00, Becks Vier £2.80

Average cost of soft drink: £1.10

Average cost of a glass of wine: £3.75 to £5.25