Pub food: business boosters
Own-brand local beer
Where: Taverners, Godshill, Isle of Wight
The idea: Selling a local beer, unique to the pub. Chef/licensee Roger Serjent says: "The beer is sold draught and by the bottle in the pub, and in gift packs, to take away, in our shop. It's called Taverners Ale and is made by Yates' Brewery on the island, especially for us. We're a tied Punch pub so had to negotiate hard to be allowed to sell it, but felt that it was necessary to complement our local food offering."
What we needed: "We had some bar runners printed to advertise the beer. These cost £6 each plus a £50 set-up fee, but as we included the brewery's logo on the runner they met the set-up costs. We also have it printed on our back-bar fridges.
"Initially we only offered the beer in bottles, as our front bar had no hand-pulls, but it proved so popular that we decided to have some installed. To begin with, we were able to sell the beer at a lower price than the others we stock as it's a local product and was considerably cheaper than those bought from Punch, but prices have risen and we now offer it at the same price as our other ales."
Business benefits: "The beer is incredibly popular, particularly during the tourist season, and during the summer months we sell a nine-gallon barrel a day, plus a considerable number of gift packs. In winter the hand-pump sales are lower, but we do still sell a lot of gift packs. I've just had an enquiry from a local business that wants to send the packs to all of its clients at Christmas and we are also planning to incorporate the beer into our Christmas hampers. It's proved so successful that we are now negotiating to be able to offer a local cider in the same way."
Top tip: Offer the beer in a number of different formats for maximum sales.
1927 menu
Where: Cary Arms, Babbacombe Beach, Devon
The idea: Set main-course offer with a historical theme. Jo Di-Carlo, sales and marketing manager, says: "We wanted to offer a set main-course menu during our quieter periods to encourage local custom, and to give our repeat clientele something different.
"To make our menu stand out from the many others on offer, we wanted a theme. It was in 1927 that the Cary Arms reopened as a hotel in its current form, following a fire that destroyed the original building, so we decided to celebrate this year by offering seasonal 1920s dishes that complement our main menu.
The promotion has been running since the beginning of the year from Monday to Thursday during low season (October to April) and is available at both lunch and dinner services. The price has been set to reflect the year, so for £19.27, two guests can enjoy a set main course (which changes monthly) and a glass of wine. Dishes include slow-
roasted pork served on champ potato and roasted butternut squash, finished in a port sauce, as well as Devon beef stew with dumplings. We also run our standard restaurant menu alongside the 1927 one."
What we needed: "We advertise the menu internally via our website, flyers, boards outside the pub and emails to our database. We also placed some local adverts which cost a couple of hundred pounds a month — but were advertising other events too."
Business benefits: "The menu hasn't been running for long enough to fully assess its benefits, but at least a couple of guests opt for it each service. The aim is to encourage new custom and create further awareness of the business; something that we will need to monitor this winter once the menu has enjoyed a full season."
Top tip: Create something unique to you, that has a story behind it.
Regional dish
Where: White Horse, Whepstead, Suffolk
The idea: Weekly changing regional dish. Featuring a different dish each week from local and regional producers, the offer includes seared pigeon breast on braised puy lentils with autumnal roasted vegetables, Suffolk black cured ham, on bubble and squeak with Horringer villager Gordon's free range eggs and marinated twice-cooked Suffolk pork loin with potato and apple salad. Owner Di Kingshott says: "We didn't want to offer meal deals but felt we needed to do something to reflect the current economic climate. All of our food is sourced locally wherever possible with mains ranging in price from £10.95 to £15.95 but we decided to offer a weekly regional dish from Monday to Thursday at a reduced price of £9.95."
What we needed: "We advertised on our website, via in-house leaflets and in our monthly newsletter to our customer database. We also received some coverage in Suffolk magazine. We are ideally located to source local produce; the local shoot provides us with game, a smallholding down the road with a lot of our vegetables and we also encourage customers to bring us their home-grown produce."
Business benefits: "On average we serve 40 to 50 regional dishes a week which is around 10% of our total weekly covers. The idea showcases local producers and suppliers which is important in these tough times when money made in the region should stay here."
Top tip: Start small with one dish to gauge reaction, but look to widen the offering.
