Vegan menus? Don't sneer, this pub made a killing...

Where: ​Royal Oak, Tetbury, Gloucestershire

Website: ​www.theroyaloaktetbury.co.uk

Twitter: ​@tetburyroyaloak

The idea:​ Stand-alone vegan menu offered to diners.

How it works: ​Each month, the pub creates a new seasonally-inspired vegan menu which runs alongside the pub’s regular offering. All vegan dishes are also featured on the pub’s main menu, with popular vegan choices remaining as ‘House Favourites’. Dishes include leek, potato and mushroom lasagne and Porcini mushroom and herb burger with hand cut fries and seeded coleslaw. There is also a vegan stew of the day. The pub carries a range of vegan and organic wines, sourced in partnership with organic wine supplier, Vintage Roots.

Marketing: ​An icon on the freehold pub’s website allows diners to download the menu and news of the changes is also posted on the pub’s social media channels and newsletter. Word of mouth is also very important, as is diners’ feedback via Twitter and TripAdvisor.  Customers are encouraged to order three courses from the menu with a complimentary bottle of Asparagasm vegan-method pale ale from Stroud Brewery.

Be prepared:​ Staff gather for menu tastings on launch day and discuss the new changes, ingredients and wine pairings. Inspiration for the menu comes from what is seasonally available. The pub also recycles some dishes that have previously been trialled at a pop-up dining club, Asparagasm, organised by pub owner, Kate Lewis. Grains, wholefoods and wholesale supplies are sourced from Suma, an organic wholefood cooperative in West Yorkshire.

Pay-off:​ Allows vegan diners to eat out with ease.

Key benefits: ​Demonstrates the pub’s ethos of inclusiveness and diversity; raises pub’s profile amongst the vegan community.

Advice:​ Lewis says: “Test-run your repertoire with staff and a client focus group. Go vegan with your dishes wherever possible, to appeal to everyone. Our soup of the day is always vegan as is our house chocolate ice-cream.”

Best outcome:​ At least twenty covers sold from the menu each week.

Where: ​The Old Spot, Bath Avenue, Dublin

Website: ​www.theoldspot.ie​

Twitter: ​@theoldspotdub

The Idea: ​Customers receive a 20% discount off their bill if they do not use their mobile phone while in the venue.  Staff at the pub came up with the idea after they spotted a couple out for dinner that did not speak during the meal but sat on their mobile phones.

How it works: ​Customers’ mobile phones are put into a clear jar, which is sealed when they arrive at the pub. At the end of the meal when staff return to give them the bill they check the seal is unbroken and the party receives their 20% discount.

Marketing: ​Twitter, Facebook and all social media. Word of mouth is also a strong marketing tool. The venue has had a lot of media coverage on the event, which has also driven business.

Be prepared: ​Have the jars ready for the day. Send out a lot of reminders by Facebook and Twitter to make sure that people know that the pub is still offering the discount every Sunday.

Pay off: ​Old Spot assistant manager Eleanor Murphy said: “Sunday is a time for customers to splash out.  They can get that more expensive bottle of wine. People are spending the discount.”

Press coverage has meant there has been a lot of publicity around the initiative, which has driven more people into the venue. The Old Spot has seen Sunday’s grow in customer numbers  on the back of the initiative.

Key benefits: ​Customers feel there has been a lot of good favour with the deal. Sunday’s is a competitive day and this event enables the pub to differentiate itself from other venues in the area.

Advice: ​Build up to the event with the marketing and social media activity.

Best Outcome: ​New customers are now attending the venue and are re-visiting during the week.