London 2012 Olympics: Pubs near Olympic venues report strong trading

By The Publican's Morning Advertiser Team

- Last updated on GMT

Related tags Janet dooner Public house Summer olympic games

Rendevous Bar, Weymouth
Rendevous Bar, Weymouth
Pubs near Olympic venues across the country got off to a flying start in the first few days of the event.

In Stratford, east London, Janet Dooner, of the Railway Tavern — which has a 24-hour licence — reported strong trade over the first weekend and especially after last Friday night’s opening ceremony, when she closed at 5am.

She said: “About 300 drummers who had been involved in the stadium turned up.
“We left it that late as we couldn’t just let people out on the streets knowing they couldn’t get home, and the first trains start running from 5am onwards.”

The Box Tree, in Box Hill, Surrey, which is part of the five-strong Redcomb Pubs estate, took a record £35,000 last Saturday as cycling enthusiasts flocked to see the men’s road race.

“We were absolutely mobbed,” said Redcomb MD Dan Shotton. “We hosted a company called Specialized, which is the biggest bike company in the world, and it
was one of their bikes that won the race.

“We’d usually do £12,000 in a normal weekend but must have done about £43,000 at the weekend.”
In Weymouth, Dorset, where the sailing events are being held, TCG Group’s Rendezvous bar saw a 40% uplift in sales on what it would expect on the busiest Sundays of the summer.

General manager Keith Treggiden said: “We had customers waiting when we opened for breakfast, and they were still partying in our nightclub in the early hours of Monday.

“The atmosphere in the town is fantastic, we had plenty of local people in, as well as visitors from further afield, and many of the sailing teams have already become regulars here.”

In Eton Dorney, Buckinghamshire, where the rowing events are being held, Chrys Fisher, licensee at the Palmers Arms, said that trade over the weekend was better than usual.

He said: “The weekend was good but it was a shame that the weather did not hold out. We were filled to capacity on Sunday with people trying to get out of the rain.

“We have a lot of mid-week bookings and we are doing breakfast too, so we got quite a few people in who came back for lunch.”

Further north in Manchester, where both the women’s and men’s football teams were playing, tourists flocked to the area.

Alan Owen, manager at the Sam Platts, which is located near Old Trafford, said the pub had twice as money customers as usual. He said: “Last night we had a Brazilian samba band in. It was different to when we have Man Utd fans in. It was a really good atmosphere.”

Pubs in Otley, West Yorkshire, had strong trade as people watched the women’s cycling road race, cheering on local athlete Lizzie Armitstead, who won Team GB’s first medal.

Otley Pub Group chairman Peter Jackson said: “The race had everyone gripped. With her being a local girl, it was electrifying, phenomenal. We are now looking at putting on a reception for her when she gets back.”

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