Gasto Style Pub in County Location - advice please?:)

louleu29

I am looking for some advice if anyone has any experience in gastro pubs / country venues..

I am currently waiting on a property that is about to come on the market through the banks. Will be purchased very reasonable. Its a pub / function room with a small house in a county location. It is currently closed and will need fully renovation. I want to transform it into a successful country style / gastro pub which serves food, and has functions and potentially does 4/5 rooms for b & b. It has plenty of space in the car parking lot as well, as well as substantial out buildings etc. It is set in a village that has a tourist attraction, and near a very busy road. There are currently two pubs in the village that only open from 9pm and don't serve food, and very small. Its more of a destination pub that would stand out from the crowd that people would drive to. There is also potential to put in a shop, as currently the village shop only opens Mon to Fri in the mornings.. There is potential for it to work, as it was very successful in the past, and there is still a demand for food etc.

Anyone got any advice in terms of investment / styles that may work etc.. Any advice greatly appreciated..

Thanks.

sandin

One of the best investment schemes out there is the EIIS - employment investment incentive scheme (google it)

Get anyone earning over 35k and see if they are willing to invest in the business - for every €1000 they invest they will get 30% back in tax refund in the year of investment and then a further 11% back in after year 3 assuming the business has created employment.

The other benefit is you get a strong balance sheet and make the business more attractive for a bank loan.

You could also offer to purchase the shares back after 3 years for the original investment amount.

As for food - as a nation we have become used to eating out, and the habit will never go away, just the amount we are willing to spend on going out has dropped.

I would have a few basics and then create a seasonal menu each month but always keep the menu tight to avoid wastage and therefore you can keep costs down.

A good example is Silken Thomas/Chapter 16 in Kildare town - they went from a 4 page menu with all sorts of prices to a single page small menu with changing specials and a fixed price - 49.95 incl wine for 2. There are supplements for things such as fillet steak, but the place is packed most weekends.
http://www.silkenthomas.com/system/assets/15/original/chapter-16-a-la-carte-menu.pdf?1297780194

I'd say go around small towns on a few Friday and saturday nights / sunday lunch and see who is busy and work out why they are busy and then try and transfer that to your locality.

Peterdalkey

Good is the key, good food at good prices, everyone is looking for value. Value does not mean price only, cheap crap is crap!

Doing some research and imitating successful formulae as suggested by Sandin is a sound idea. From your description you have little local competition which is a great opportunity, provided you give them a great experience that is affordable.
Look up the Bridgestone Guide to identify the kind of places worth visiting.

Like any new business you will need to invest in marketing and publicity and not just rely on word of mouth to build a customer base, it takes too long. If your offering is great, that will happen over time in any event.

Best of luck

Peter

markymark21

If I was trying to raise money to open a restaurant in today's market I'd definitely offer investors equity (as opposed to a fixed repayment) in return for their investment. Your going to need a lot of money starting off - enough to see you through your first year anyway as you will just be finding your feet. As you seem to know what you want and with a lack of competition in the area I reckon you could attract some quality investors..

At least if you offer equity (and find investors who won't be in on top of you 5 days a week) at least it gives you some breathing space y'know? I also think you should look for established pubs, B&B's and restaurants in and around your area and eat and stay with them. Find out what makes them tick, why they are going well. Keep your ears open and talk to the staff.. of course don't let on you are looking to open a new establishment as it might cause them to clam up!

And I reccommend you read these two books:

'Restaurant owners un-corked' by Will Brewley

'Setting the table' by Danny Meyer


Good luck!

Evsytrad

Freinds of mine came over from London for New Years a few years back. So... we toke them to our favourite restaurant / Gastro Pub called The Ballymore Inn Kildare http://www.ballymoreinn.com/ and they said its better than anything they have to eat in London. Be inspired by this great place. Its never fails on:
Great welcome
Great simple decor
Great local fresh grown produce
Great Prices... not the cheapest but always choca block with people having the craic!
Eh...
I think a lot of times people design restaurants with flash in mind. I think you should design your pub with function in mind. Make sure it's functional and works with what you're trying to accomplish. Design can come later.
Go for it, Book me a table...

RATM

I'd be wary of your plans OP, pubs/restaurants that you have to drive to are a very risky proposition IMO. I know what you are getting at- you are aiming to provide such a good experience that people drive from miles away to go there, I've worked in a couple of similar establishments myself in the past that had reputations that were almost nationwide.

I'm not saying what you are attempting is impossible but you'd better make sure you recruit one the best pub chefs in the whole country before attempting this and even consider offering them equity if certain targets are met so you incentivise them to stay there.

The busy road/tourist attraction sounds good but without knowing what or where it is it is difficult to judge for certain.

Donegans Pub/Restaurant just a few miles north of Drogheda is in the countryside but at the side of the Dublin-Belfast road which is the busiest in the country and has a thousands of cars passing every day. It has a reputation right across Ulster and Leinster of having one of the best steaks in the country and they charge €25-40 for them and the place is packed every day of the week. You should check it out - if you can re-create something similar then you're onto a good thing.

Feel free to PM me

irish_goat

Get some decent beer in as well, nearly every pub in the country serves the same bland pints. Getting some good craft beer will differentiate you from probably every other pub in the area.

Pairing beer up with food in the same way you would with wine is a simple way of adding to the customer's eating experience and is another way of making yourself different from the rest.

marley123

Definately go after the Small wedding market aswell !

Also make sure you get a bloody good chef in from day one & ensure FOH staff are trained up in everything. Otherwise you will fight a loosing battle

Bigus

Believe it or not lack of competition may hinder not help you, and ask yourself why there is no opposition ? In , or near this location.

Count the local chimney pots around your site too and see if the is any local sustainability. 4/5 bedrooms is a liability you would need 20 to make bedrooms viable on a commercial scale.

Do one exercise and run projections on this business if the building were handed to you for nothing, would it make a profit after paying you the minimum wage ? Even if you got it for nothing ?

If you think so then engage an accountant to check your figures before you engage a building surveyor.

Good luck

arbitrage

The folks used to run a country pub and in these areas the main employment is farming and construction both of which are going through very tough times obviously so there is little to no disposable income.

Most pubs and restaurants in these country areas are deserted Monday to Thursday and as far as the shop goes that would basically be milk, smokes and newspaper retailing where there is a very small profit margin.

Would you achieve the economies of scale to offer a decent dinner for ~e12 and a pint of guinness for ~e4?