Barley Mow pub is in the know

Licensee Steve Bardsley, of Hall & Woodhouse tenancy the Barley Mow in Colehill, Dorset, talks tapas Tuesdays, loyalty cards and hot beverages with Sheila McWattie.

How I got here​

We are a family-run business, consisting of me, my wife, Sue, and son and daughter in law, Lee and Hannah. Lee has been a chef for 14 years and alongside Hannah they have worked for a joint 12 years on the managed side of Hall & Woodhouse. Our pub, the Barley Mow, is situated in the beautiful village of Colehill in Dorset, just one and a half miles from the town of Wimborne.

In the first six months of opening the pub, we built the trade up to around £12,000 a week, from nothing, as the pub has been shut for four months.

Achieving business growth​

We aim to ensure that both existing and new customers feel extremely welcome — as if they are coming into our home. Our focus is on providing a quality service with excellent food and drink at reasonable prices.

We ran a loyalty-card scheme for meals and drinks, which proved very popular. To ensure we keep our staff motivated and focused on our customers' needs, we occasionally use 'chase the tenner' as a selling target. Whoever reaches or exceeds the target set receives £10. We also run staff meetings, to go through how they should be selling, and looking after our customers

Business philosophy​ — Treat your customers how you would wish to be treated yourself. The customer is always right.

Best piece of business advice ever given​ — Know your weaknesses and have people with you who help you to improve on them. Nothing is ever perfect and improvements can always be made.

Standing out from the competition​

The Barley Mow is a part-thatched two-storey inn built originally as a drover's cottage around the 16th century. Running a traditional, historic country pub really has its benefits. We work on the philosophy of providing our customers with a warm, friendly welcome, which was pretty much standard fare in the pubs of yesteryear. Many of our customers remark on this and greatly appreciate the welcome they receive at the Barley Mow.

Recommended business website​

www.caci.co.uk​ — offers a range of marketing solutions and information systems for businesses and is a great way to research your local area. It provides information on such things as the local population, ages and employment statistics — pretty much everything you need to know about your local area.

Best food promotion​

Tapas Tuesdays. Customers choose five traditional tapas dishes between two for £12.99.

Extra dishes can be added for £3.95. To complement the dishes we provide a selection of Spanish red, white and rosé wines. We also offer sangria by the jug or glass.

Our tip for success would be to conduct research into your menu and food, and buy authentic ingredients. The weekly tapas nights have proved very popular and are having a great effect on our Tuesday takings.

Couldn't live without...​

We couldn't live without our coffee machine. It is great to be able to serve our customers real, freshly ground coffee, which they definitely appreciate.

The coffee market is growing rapidly in the pub sector. We provide filter coffee, lattes, cappuccinos, hot chocolates and liqueur coffees. The machine was bought second hand and cost £800.

Bar talk​

Our wet sales are definitely led by our beer sales at 69.2%, closely followed by minerals and then wines at 10.1%. Our best-selling beers are Badger First Gold and Hofbräu Extra Cold. Our best-selling wines are Pinot Grigio and Cabernet Merlot.

We drive our drinks sales by putting on a wine of the week and offering our locals a discount off their usual drink. The drinks loyalty card also motivates our customers to buy nine and get their 10th drink free.

Our best ideas​

• Loyalty cards — Hall & Woodhouse supported us on our loyalty card scheme, going so far as to produce the cards. We gave diners 10% off their third meal and 20% off the sixth. We also offer a 'buy nine drinks and get the 10th free' incentive.

• Two meals for £10.95 — We offer two light-bite meals for £10.95 from noon until 2.30pm, Monday to Friday, which has proved very popular.

• Hog roast — We purchased a hog roast kit, which we utilise on such occasions as bank holidays, car-club meetings and tractor conventions. We have also used it for large social gatherings such as birthdays, weddings etc.

• Live-music nights — We have only run this evening once since we opened; however, it proved to be

a huge success for everyone and we will be looking to continue this.

• Three recommended suppliers

Hall & Woodhouse, Blandford, Dorset — www.hall-woodhouse.co.uk​

3663 — www.3663.co.uk​

County Foods, Upton, Dorset — www.countyfoods.co.uk​

Pub facts​

Licensees: Lee, Hannah, Steve and Sue Bardsley

Website: www.barleymowinn.co.uk

Wet:dry split: 30:70

Food GP: 65%

Wet GP: 61%

Total covers: 90 inside, 150 outside

Average weekly covers: 800 to 900

Approx average spend per head: £20

In the know​

• Service secrets

The key is to be warm and welcoming to customers. Never serve food or drink unless you are 100% confident and satisfied with the standard. Be attentive to every detail. We treat our staff fairly and are always happy to enjoy ourselves in the workplace as long as our customers are looked after and we exceed their every need. We make every effort to ensure that our staff motivation tasks are enjoyable — ideas include: 'chase the tenner' and tray races. We have standing points for our staff where all customers can be seen. They include greeting points, seating points, observing and waiting points. Our staff share great knowledge of all our products.

• Biggest mistake

Curry night. We ran a themed evening for a few months this year and unfortunately it didn't take off. Our curries were all homemade with locally sourced ingredients, which we priced at £8.99. We feel this didn't take off due to the price. As a pub that competes with others with its well-cooked, fresh homemade food, we did not wish to lower our prices, and therefore our standards.

• Credit Check

We closely monitor every aspect of our business, from electricity to gas usage, wages and stocks. Our food and wet stocks are checked monthly and we also recycle our old oil. In the current economic climate, we are always on the look out for ways to save money, not only for the business, but also our customers.

• Successful marketing and PR ideas

The loyalty card scheme has proved very popular with the locals. Hall & Woodhouse produced leaflets with a printed voucher, which we hand delivered within a five-mile radius of the pub. We also market ourselves through our website — www.barleymowinn.co.uk​ — and have a Facebook page, which we use to promote our events. We also advertise in local newspapers and magazines.

Menu philosophy​

Traditional, home-cooked pub food; restaurant-style specials boards. The menu offers everything from game to fish and vegetarian dishes. We aim for 66% GP on food.

A Winter Warmers Night is also offered with classic winter dishes on a separate menu,

such as stews, sausage & mash and cottage pie. Customers are offered two choices off the menu and a bottle of wine for £20. The menu changes every three months to mirror the seasons.

•Best new dish

Slow-roast belly of pork, served with home-made bubble and squeak, fresh seasonal vegetables and a home-made apple gravy.

Best-selling dishes​

• Starters: Baked Camembert (for two to share) served with crusty bread and a home