BUSINESS BOOSTER
Money makers: Ideas to drive food and drink sales at your pub
Children’s cinema birthday parties
Where: The Gorringe Park, Tooting, London
Tenure: Yummy Pub Co lease
Twitter: @TheGorringePark
The idea: Birthday parties in pub’s cinema room
How it works: Children of all ages can have a birthday party featuring party games, children’s food and a big-screen movie with popcorn and sweets for £40-£80 hire fee.
Marketing: Using word of mouth to control the volume of parties is working very well as there are plenty of mums’ networking groups in the area. When it is more established it will be promoted on the pub’s social media, web page and database.
Be prepared: Consider all the spaces available in your pub for a kids’ party.
Pay-off: The parties drive adult revenue as parents enjoy having a drink while the party is happening; the events are helping to diversify the business, establishing its reputation in the community and spreading the word about space to hire.
Key benefits: Drives footfall among many parents who haven’t tried the pub before. Repeat custom is also generated as many family members who travel to the partiesreturn the following day.
Advice: Be clear about what is included and don’t feel you can’t charge: the baby boom is big business, with many parents prepared to pay.
Best outcome: Generates strong emotional attachment to the pub
Tribute dishes
Where: The Talbot Inn, Selwood Street, Mells, Somerset
Twitter: @TheTalbotMells
The idea: From time to time, the pub features dishes on its specials menu which pay tribute to influential people or places.
How it works: The dishes are based on old recipes, that have been forgotten or never been tried before, and are featured on the menu for a couple of weeks. Previous creations have included Elizabeth David’s chocolate mousse, in tribute to the British cookery writer; The Hemingway burger, American author Ernest Hemingway’s own recipe for his favourite burger; omelette Arnold Bennett, a famous classic, created – so the story goes – for the novelist and Trinity burnt cream, thought to derive from Cambridge’s Trinity College.
Marketing: The dishes are promoted via social media and on the pub’s menus.
Be prepared: Forward planning and research is needed to select dishes which suit the time of year or lend themselves to a special date in the calendar.
Pay-off: A fun idea which engages both staff and customers. Guests are intrigued by the stories behind the dishes which create a talking point during service.
Key benefits: Great feedback from customers. Adds interest to the pub’s menu which drives sales.
Advice: Head chef Pravin Nayar says: “Choose dishes that are actually nice to eat. It's very easy to get carried away with recipes that have an interesting story behind them but might not taste that great.”
Best outcome: Stimulates customer interest
