Pub Awards: Best Partnership finalist - CC Blooms, Edinburgh

After battling through the credit crunch with their landlord’s support, the business took a leap forward in 2012 after taking the bold decision to reinvent the famous venue to appeal to a wider market. A £250,000 investment by Punch opened the ground-floor bar to a daytime trade that includes families, tourists and theatre-goers – the pub is next door to the Edinburgh Playhouse.

Food was introduced for the first time, a surprisingly extensive menu served from a tiny kitchen, and the drinks offer pushed steadily upmarket. Alongside a wide range of premium spirits, and a focus on gins, CCs now serves craft beers and is a Punch test-site for the category. A burger menu has recently been added.

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In the past year, Stark and Douglas have invested their own money in upgrading the downstairs bar in order to stage meetings and events, including fringe shows for the Edinburgh Festival, effectively bringing two separate venues closer together.

Behind all that is a strong team that has taken full advantage of what the landlord has to offer in terms of training and development. Punch is fully behind the couple’s repositioning of the business, which is on course to hit record sales in 2016, and BDM Steve Latto has worked closely with them over the past four years.