Rural Pub

bigneacy

I have been offered a zero risk profit share arrangement in a Rural pub.

The premise being, the present owners have a declining Bar & Lounge w/function room to the rear and a terrace area/beer garden to the front. They have the money and would like an Idea's Man with plenty of enthusiasm to come on board. They despise the idea of the place closing down and are ready to save it.

The pub itself is in a small village pop. 600, It is beside another pub and a shop. The village is about 15 mins away from a large town, 15 mins away from two medium towns.

The place is in reasonable condition. I have some ideas, but would like some further inspiration?

What marketing ideas etc. would you advise for a declining pub in a rural area, but still in the catchment of a large town and 2 medium towns? Ideally I need to start getting punters in the door, and moreover - punters that will come back again and again despite the 15minute taxi ride.

Any answers would be appreciated, but I'd prefer no "Don't do it" comments, as I've already said its risk free. The only thing i'll be investing/liable for is my time and effort.

SQ2

A local rural pub not far from me recently did a few things that changed it's trajectory...

Started doing food. Good food. Really good in fact, not fancy stuff, not just frozen food dipped in a fryer. Good fresh food. love it.

Did the place up well, not just a lick of paint and some new beer mats.

Bought an old mini bus and brings people home in the locality (10 miles or so). It might need an extra body to drive it though.

I stopped in one evening to try the grub I'd heard about with a pint and the owner came over for a brief chat, he said if we'd like to stay for the evening he can get us dropped home whenever we liked, not just when they were ready.
Impressed I was, they ended up getting a club function for 30 off me a couple of months later and dropped everyone home that would usually have to fuss about lifts getting out to it.

If I think of anything more I'll post it...

YouProduce

SQ2 wrote: »

A local rural pub not far from me recently did a few things that changed it's trajectory...

Started doing food. Good food. Really good in fact, not fancy stuff, not just frozen food dipped in a fryer. Good fresh food. love it.

Did the place up well, not just a lick of paint and some new beer mats.

Bought an old mini bus and brings people home in the locality (10 miles or so). It might need an extra body to drive it though.

I stopped in one evening to try the grub I'd heard about with a pint and the owner came over for a brief chat, he said if we'd like to stay for the evening he can get us dropped home whenever we liked, not just when they were ready.
Impressed I was, they ended up getting a club function for 30 off me a couple of months later and dropped everyone home that would usually have to fuss about lifts getting out to it.

If I think of anything more I'll post it...

Those are all excellent suggections that I can see working in our local. The thing is, everybody is saying the rural pub is dying, which it is, but not because of anything systemic. Its dying because times are changing and the people that run them are old and don't have the energy to adapt. Thats my experience, & I live in a village with three pubs which was once the pace to be in my county in the 80s & early 90s. The same publicans now just cater for their regulars, who are dying year-on-year, and nothing new has been tried for years. Its so calcitrant that I can't even imagine their sons & daughters doing anything.

Anyway, goodluck, I hope you do provide food & a taxi service home. The revenue returns from keeping your regulars will pay the driver's wages. I would get involved in the local community groups. Small villages everywhere are losing their sense of community as many become main-roads between bigger towns. Bringing people into the village on weekends for markets or community centre events will help as you'll get spill-over. If their is a football match on offer free grub to the local team, they'll spend plenty to make up for it.

The drink driving laws are irrational (not in principle, but in fulfilling their purpose) and are definitely damaging local rural communities, but there are definitely ways to adapt and thrive.

Fair play & goodluck

gerrycollins

Set up a normal facebook page to advertise your events, my locals are doing it but I cannot tell you if any a return however imo opnion its brings the pub to the people not just the regularls.

Also you could post pics of events/nights and to promote people to join your facebook page by offering incentitives to your facebook friends on your food offerings.

also post up promos or gigs and everyone who is your frined will see it when they open their own personal page.

YouProduce

FB really breeds a sense of familiarity with the proprietors, I've heard it used extremely well for cafes in Navan & Kerry. Definitely a must, since its free & easy.

bigneacy

Some great suggestions here guys. A lot of it was in the back of my mind, but a lot of it is new to me also.

Thanks to all who have replied so far!

shawnee

I still believe that there is an opportunity in the pub buisness. That is despite the costs , the hours and the recession. The reason that most people go to the pub is for a friendly atmosphere and a bit of fun. The person behind the bar is in my opinion the "most" important aspect. If he/she has a naturally cheery outlook then they are half way there.
The pubs in general have never marketed , they didn't need to . Now they do. They need to clean the place up, put on events , try out different strategies and get the locals clubs/organizations involved.
If you have the enthusiasm and energy for this and are willing to give it a go , then you should do ok. Best of luck

MidlandsM

shawnee wrote: »

I still believe that there is an opportunity in the pub buisness. That is despite the costs , the hours and the recession. The reason that most people go to the pub is for a friendly atmosphere and a bit of fun. The person behind the bar is in my opinion the "most" important aspect. If he/she has a naturally cheery outlook then they are half way there.
The pubs in general have never marketed , they didn't need to . Now they do. They need to clean the place up, put on events , try out different strategies and get the locals clubs/organizations involved.
If you have the enthusiasm and energy for this and are willing to give it a go , then you should do ok. Best of luck

yeah, but events cost money to stage, and mini buses cost money to run/operate. It's a tough game to commit to.

padser

bigneacy wrote: »

I have been offered a zero risk profit share arrangement in a Rural pub.

The premise being, the present owners have a declining Bar & Lounge w/function room to the rear and a terrace area/beer garden to the front. They have the money and would like an Idea's Man with plenty of enthusiasm to come on board. They despise the idea of the place closing down and are ready to save it.

The pub itself is in a small village pop. 600, It is beside another pub and a shop. The village is about 15 mins away from a large town, 15 mins away from two medium towns.

The place is in reasonable condition. I have some ideas, but would like some further inspiration?

What marketing ideas etc. would you advise for a declining pub in a rural area, but still in the catchment of a large town and 2 medium towns? Ideally I need to start getting punters in the door, and moreover - punters that will come back again and again despite the 15minute taxi ride.

Any answers would be appreciated, but I'd prefer no "Don't do it" comments, as I've already said its risk free. The only thing i'll be investing/liable for is my time and effort.

No doubt in my mind that the single most important thing you can do is get people to and from their homes.

Figure out a way to make it hassle free for people to get there and back and you have given yourself a fighting chance.

Then you need to figure out why they would want to come, but unless you take out the hassle factor of getting there nothing happens.

BnB

I am living in a rural area myself and it really really frustrates me at how badly most rural pubs are run. I think the reason that so many of them are run badly is because they attracted the wrong type of buyers, especially in the boom times. Basically people who wanted to make a quick buck as opposed to run a decent pub.

If you do a few basic things well, you'll go a long way.

1) Keep the place clean. It doesn't have to be decorated by an interior designer... just clean. Freshly painted, clean floor, clean glasses, clean loos. Most fella's don't really give too hoots, but a dirty pub (and especially dirty loos) really put wemon off. Our local pub has died a death. If I had a euro, for every time I have heard a fella say to me..."Ahhh Mary (or whoever the wife/girlfriend is) doesn't like the place. She's always giving out about how the jacks in there. So we don't bother going down any more....

2) Be nice to the locals. You don't have to change the world or be a comedien (or especially not a smart a55)... just be pleasant. Say hello, give them a smile, give them their drink. If someone's on their own and wants to chat, chat away. If people are talking away themselves, leave them alone.

3) Keep the drink good. Good Guinness in particular will bring lads in and keep them in.

4) Go that small bit extra. If there is a bit of a crowd in after a match, throw out a few baskets of sasuages and chips or even a few plates of sandwiches if you don't have a kitchen. People really really appreciate it.

Get those few basics right and I think you will go a long way. After that, in the current situation, I do think some kind of minibus is almost essential. Or at the very leasy, be prepared to give a few people a lift home afterwards.

Then next up of course you have food, which is a whole new ball game. What I would say about food is, whatever you do, do it well. i.e. Don't try to do too much, having a huge menu and putting yourself under pressure. Keep your menu limited starting off, but make sure that every single thing on it is spot on.

antoinolachtnai

I think the food is a good idea, but be really careful and thorough. You need to get some advice to make sure you can do the prep with the kitchen facilities you have (which are likely to be minimal). This is going to involve a visit and advice from the EHO and probably from a consulting chef of some sort too.

There are good products you can buy in and heat in an oven.

BailMeOut

Some rural pubs in Ireland are more like mini community centers than pubs. It is the place where local meeting occurs, local sports clubs meet, fund raisers are planned and in many case happen, book clubs meet, etc... Many even have defibrillators so the pub even saves lives! These place too are always really family friendly and not unusual to see kids in them and facilities for kids, eg games room, children's programs on a TV, kid events and my favourite - large bottles of minerals that they can share - love that!

If you are up for a field trip check out this place http://fisherscross.com/. It is in the middle of nowhere (7 miles outside Clonakilty) in but seems to be busy every day and night. We stayed near it last summer and there were constant local events in the pub, very involved with local sports, the owners even drove us home at night (who are lovely people I might add). The place is definitely the life blood of the local community and an absolute gem of a pub. I am sure there are many more places in Ireland just like this one and I am sure it took generations to build up its reputation and significance to the local but none the less I am sure you would get some great tips from it.