Cheshire Cat Pubs & Inns won in the Best Pub Operations Team, Best Food Offer and Best Drinks Offer categories.
Bird said of Cheshire Cat’s Publican Awards wins: “Winning something is a funny thing because it’s soon over, and then you’re back to normality. But you’ve got the trophies in your locker and you’ve got to just keep moving. It’s like the famous saying, ‘success is a journey, not a destination’, and that’s our motto in many respects.
“We’re so proud and so blown away by the three wins at the Publican Awards, [especially] winning best drink back back-to-back, not many people have done that and for me personally, that was amazing, I was quite moved by that.”
Bird attributed the businesses success not only to Cheshire Cat’s dedicated team but also its consistency and ability to find opportunities to improve, which has proved fruitful for the business with March sales up 9% like-for-like.
He continued: “You can’t be complacent about anything and that drives us to be consistent in everything we do.
“Consistency over a long period of time is vital to any business and it’s more than vital to us, we don’t want to rest on our laurels.”
Avalanche of cost changes
And this is something the company will be channelling over the next 12 months as it looks to expand its no and low offering as well as the accommodation and event arms of the business.
“We’re developing two more bedrooms at the Chomondeley Arms. We’ve got a cottage there that we’re converting and are getting planning permission for bedrooms at the Roebuck and the Three Greyhounds.
“We are also investing a lot in outdoor areas because one or two are tired. At the Fitzherbert Arms, we’re replacing the willow cladding decking with something that’s far more sustainable and looks more attractive as well. We’re also redoing the heaters and outside lighting”, the award-winning operator explained.
However, this wouldn’t be without its challenges as the sector continues to face cost pressures, Bird added: “We’re faced with an avalanche of forced cost changes. So, we’ve got to look after the customers and our teams better than we ever have and I believe it’s going to be about great value.
“Our key focus is developing our menus and drinks so they still reflect good value and high quality. Of course, things have to go up, but they go up gradually and in a value added way.
“And value doesn’t mean cheap, it’s making sure customers are not shocked by the bill, feel it was good value and come back next week.
“Quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten.”
The company, which operates seven pubs across Cheshire, has also decorated a number of its sites and built an outside bar at one of its pubs.
Pride and confidence
Bird continued: “We’re looking at all the different little avenues that we can add value to improve the quality for our customers.
“But nothing needs to change remarkably because people don’t want that, they love the pubs the way they are, you just need to add value and keep visible investment up so customers can see where their money is going.”
Cheshire Cat has also looked to expand its in-house ‘champions’ programme, which sees a dedicated ‘champion’ across a variety of categories, for example beer, in its venues, as well as its learning and development trips for team members.
“We’re doing a lot more out-of-the-box stuff, but effectively the way the ops team is developed is by saying to them ‘where do you want to develop more?’ and helping them to get to there.”
Bird added the pub industry has been continuously battered by economic challenges across the board since the pandemic, making highlighting the positives even more important.
He continued: “You’ve got to channel the wins and say to the team ‘we’re reinvesting the money you’ve worked so hard to bring in via our customers in you and in the buildings’.
“That builds pride and confidence in the team; it’s so easy to win something and get demotivated but you need to put positive signals out, and that’s what we’re doing.”
