Licensee bans 'hellish' Christmas parties

Ian Wilson, licensee at Enterprise pub the Queen Vic, Brighton, said not taking bookings or introducing a festive menu helps avoid a January slump as regulars aren’t put off during December.

Work parties

“People want to have a drink with friends and family without having to sit next to Chantelle from accounts on her third bottle of cava as she tries to make her way through the sales team,” Wilson said.

“It’s amateur hour at Christmas. Those people who don’t get out an awful lot, then they go out at Christmas and get smashed. You might be flogging them for one month a year, but it’s not showing the pub at its best.”

Regulars

The licensee insists they still love Christmas at the Queen Vic and put up their own tree (below), and the pub does open on Christmas day, but only at 12-2pm for drinks. 

“This means our favourite locals pop in while dinner is in the oven. We give all our regulars a drink on the house, and it’s the happiest day of the year, and has a surprisingly high take in the tills for a low staffing cost,” Wilson said.

The licensee admits the strategy is unusual, but is adamant that it helps avoid a January drop in sales.

Grief and stress

“It’s busy, but we could definitely take more in December. And we don’t have the grief and the stress,” he added.

The pub is taking part in the Publican’s Morning Advertiser’s​ TryJanuary, which encourages consumers to visit the pub and try something new at the start of the year.

The Queen Vic decorates with fresh greenery (below) to decorate, which only lasts for two weeks.

They keep the pub old-fashioned, which is a “refreshing feel to the commercialisation common in much of the market”, Wilson argues.

“It’s inevitable that drunken office parties will badly change the atmosphere. People don’t want that drunken office party next to them, or a sad mass-produced Christmas roast,” he said.

Routine

“If you disrupt regular trade they go somewhere else, it avoids breaking people’s routine. If you break people’s routine they could find a new routine somewhere else.”

And the approach benefits employees as well as customers, Wilson argues.

“Staff enjoy working what would otherwise be pretty hellish, and we make it through the month without being run ragged!”

But the pub still aims to host a “lovely Christmas vibe”, that’s enjoyable for both staff and customers alike.

Do your Christmas plans buck the trend? Email: oli.gross@wrbm.com