Success at the Saddle Inn
Graham Rowson, licensee of the Saddle Inn, in Preston, Lancashire, tells Sonya Hook how focusing on community events, families and summer activities drives trade at his countryside pub.
How we got here
We've been in the pub trade for the past 20 years but had always worked in busy city-centre pubs, so we came to the point where it was time for a change.
The Saddle, on the western edge of Preston, fitted all our criteria when we decided to look for a lovely pub in the country about 14 months ago — except that it was a complete mess.
The pub was the right size and location, but it was all boarded up and had been empty for around nine months.
We had to spend nearly £60,000 getting it operational as a pub, although the brewery (Thwaites) added to this as well.
The building needed structural work and a full renovation, but we were lucky in a way that this period of time coincided with a bad winter.
The snow and ice meant that, with the location of the Saddle, no-one could come to the pub anyway, so it was the perfect time to close up for renovation work and just get on with it.
We decorated the entire pub and upgraded the dining area, kitchen and cellars. And the garden was also a wreck, so we spent some time sorting that out.
The amount of junk we carted out of the pub was amazing. We took 13 skips containing seven tonnes of rubbish each to the tip and we also dug out a bouncy castle, which we found deflated in the garden. That practically filled a skip too. We've made that area into a putting green now.
Our award-winning business
All our efforts over the past year and a bit have already started to pay off. We won a number of Great British Pub Awards honours last year including Beer Garden of the Year (for the north-west region). We were highly commended in the Family Pub of the Year category (north-west) and area finalist in the Best Cellar category.
We take great care in the drinks and food we serve, and do a lot of community events here so we're always trying to ensure not only that people come to the pub but that they return.
We have made a particular effort to cater for families as it makes sense for this area. Children in the pub can be a pain, quite frankly, but families are extremely important for our business and they will keep on coming back if we get it right.
To suit the kids, we have Shetland ponies, a six-hole putting area, five-a-side football, rounders and cricket matches and a playground with swings, slides and climbing frames. There is also a nine-pin skittle alley at the front of the pub.
Community focus
A lot of events take place at the pub, or organisers link up with us. We are involved in the annual Manchester to Blackpool cycle race this year because last year we were surprised when many of the 7,000 to 9,000 cyclists stopped off at our pub on their journey. I made enquiries and now we are making use of our huge car park to cater for these cyclists as their first stopping point.
We talked to Makro and it is supplying £2,000-worth of free water and Mars bars for us, and we'll also have a first-aid area and cycle repair section. The cyclists will use the pub on the way back as well.
We link up with quite a few regular walks and garden events here too, because the location is perfect for it. For St George's Day we will have a walk involving 700 people, and there will also be a vegetable show, as well as an equestrian event later in the year, which has attracted around 400 people in the past.
The car park is so big that it's perfect for a number of events, although the council wouldn't let me hold car boot sales. But I am hoping to get some hot-air balloons here this summer.
We also have private gardens for functions. Last week we did a diamond wedding anniversary, for example, where we were able to read out a telegram from the Queen.
And we have the usual weekday activities such as karaoke, dominoes, darts, quizzes and pool. Our weekends are dedicated to being family and sports days.
Boosting trade in summer
Summer is extremely important to us, particularly when you take into account that people can't reach us in bad winter weather, so our turnover can plummet.
For the quieter and colder months it can be just me, my wife and the manager working here, but in the summer there are up to 20 members of staff. We take £12,000 a month on a standard month and this can go up to £80,000 a month in the summer. So we've really got to be prepared for it.
We have loads of outdoor activities going on throughout the summer and we hold barbecues if it's really hot and likely to be busy.
One of the things we started doing for the summer is to link up with a caravan park up the road. There are reciprocal links on each of our websites. People can bring a trailer and stay here in our car park — in fact, they can sleep in their cars if they so wish. But for those wanting a swimming pool and washing facilities we can recommend the campsite up the road.
Family-friendly offer
We had a vision from the start for the Saddle. The location and the surroundings lend themselves to catering for families, and if we didn't do this then we wouldn't be half as successful.
The majority of people drive here, which is why we have such a big car park, so it's perfect for a family outing. It also explains why our dry sales overtake wet sales when the weather is really good.
We've had to make sure the food offer works as well as the drinks. We have a separate children's menu with all dishes priced at just £2.95 (including a junior version of the adult roast dinner), and all our food is either locally sourced or home-grown.
We also aim to have a range of drinks to suit everyone, including three traditional cask ales, a smooth bitter and four lagers, as well as a range of wines.
We will continue to look at new things and see what events we could link up with, as it's these events that help to put us on the map and draw in new people.
Facts 'n' stats
Turnover per month (standard): £12,000
Turnover per month (summer): £80,000
Covers: 60 inside, 100
outside
Wet:dry split (general): 60:40
Wet:dry split (summer): 30:70
Staff (off-peak): three
Staff (peak): 20
