What Kind Of Pub?

What Kind Of Pub Do You Want To Run?

What Kind Of Pub Do You Want To Run?

Different Pubs Meet Different Needs

There is a variety of pubs in the UK, from bustling high-street venues to sleepy, back-street locals, each with its own character and unique attraction to the public. They provide a variety of food, drinks and other facilities such as accommodation, function rooms or business services. The combination of products, service and facilities that a pub offers, influences what type of clientele will use it. Customers will frequent pubs that best meet their needs. The football fanatics, wanting to watch their favourite team on TV, will find a pub with a big-screen TV appealing. The dating couple, on the other hand, are likely to find that a quiet pub with a cosy corner will best suit their needs.

Customers’ Needs Change

Customer needs will change with their different roles and activities. The romantic couple could also be football fans: visiting the big-screen pub one day to watch the match and the quiet pub another day, to find a place to chat and gaze into each other’s eyes! The same customer will have different roles and be involved in a variety of activities. Their needs will change accordingly, and they will be attracted to pubs that best meet their needs at a particular time.

Your Ideal Pub

Using a checklist will help you to focus on what kind of pub you are looking for. You need to think about the kind of clientele that you would be happiest dealing with. Any social issues relating to the locality like crime and disorder must be considered, together with any potential impact on you and your family.

Your own skills and experience will have a major influence on your decisions too. If you cannot even boil an egg, it is unlikely that you will be able to run a high-turnover food pub effectively! Some skills can be gained through training but you also have to be realistic about your abilities too.

Using The ‘ideal Pub’ Checklist

To use the checklist, tick the boxes that describe your ideal pub. You can add requirements such as number of bedrooms and any important local facilities that you will need. Note which geographical areas you are willing to consider and what capital you have available. Further comments can be added to the end of the checklist.

A copy of this checklist can be found in Appendix (vi).

You can use your checklist to compare different pubs in order to decide which best suit your requirements. It makes the process of finding a pub and reviewing options more efficient, which is useful when sifting through pub vacancy details, often a daunting task. It also enables you to prioritise which pubs to visit as part of your research rather than having a haphazard approach. This certainly saves a great deal of time and effort. Being clear about your requirements also demonstrates to recruiters that you have thought things through and this will give them confidence in your application.

Style Of Operation

Breweries and pub companies often categorise their pubs into different styles of operation. These categories are used in advertisements and by brewery and pub company recruiters to help their recruitment process and also to target marketing activity. It is helpful to know something about this when looking for a suitable pub.

The procedure involves banding similar pubs together. Breweries and pub companies do use slightly different terminology to describe the same categories. Some of the more regularly used ones are given below, together with their main characteristics:

Young Persons’ Venue (YPV) – Main clientele are in the 18–30 age range. Venues are typically located in town or city centres with an emphasis on music, trendy drinks and a modern up-to-date image. They often have high staffing levels as speed of service is important during busy periods. Food is sometimes available, although this may be snack or fast food.
Traditional local – Traditional pubs are located in built-up residential neighbourhoods. They can be male orientated with an emphasis on pub games, sport and traditional drinks. Local customers from the immediate vicinity, travel to the pub on foot. The pub fosters a sense of community. The food offering is often limited.
Destination food pub – This is a ‘drive-to’ pub with a high proportion of food sales. Customers are drawn from a wide area. There is an emphasis on quality of food and good service. They are often located in rural areas. Wine and soft drinks are popular.

Other categories include: Live Music Venues (LMVs), Student pubs and Sports pubs.