Have a public house and restaurant AMA

[SquatsThoughtYouSaidShots]

Hi
I on a pub with a late licence and a restaurant attached.
AMA

[pinkyredrose]

How do you get rid of unruly customers?

[SquatsThoughtYouSaidShots]

How do you get rid of unruly customers?

Most of the time just ask them to leave, giving the reason why. On occasions you get a bit of mouth, most of the times their friends will agree with the reason which helps to move them on .

On rare occasions (if we have door supervisors on) they may need to be put in a hold to be removed (obviously depending on the threat to others that they pose).

[bridgetosomewhere]

How many hours a week do you work! And do you live above? Do you have nice accommodation or is it rooms over a pub?

[SquatsThoughtYouSaidShots]

bridgetosomewhere
Hours are varried, can be anywhere from 6am (deliveries)- 3am (once premises are cleared) the next am on a horrendous day! Depending on staff/whats going on etc.
Today I have worked about 3hrs so far, and will be available until 3am.
No day off for about 6 months at the moment, but we have been undergoing a big referb and some changes. Probably average 12hrs a day, 7 days a week at the moment.

Live above, its 8 rooms very spacious, nice as its been decorated etc, living on site isnt great, you never feel like you are away from the place, it wasn't our first choice but its where we are at the moment.

[Pomegranatemolasses]

Do you find it difficult to make money on food? How many kitchen staff do you have, and what type of menu?

[SquatsThoughtYouSaidShots]

Do you find it difficult to make money on food? How many kitchen staff do you have, and what type of menu?

We have 2 FT chefs (head and sous), a KP, and wait staff trained up to plate up etc if needed.
Our menu is a grill menu, cooked on an indoor wood fired grill, with a few classics and some specials, we update the menu seasonally.
We have a very good team, who are constantly looking to keep us ahead of the game, we were previously a pub with about a 90%-95% wet trade to dry (drinks to food), so we are still in progress to get this where we would like to be.

[ScreamingValenta]

What is your pet hate in terms of things your patrons do?

[SquatsThoughtYouSaidShots]

What is your pet hate in terms of things your patrons do?

When they are rude to staff (particularly young staff), I really hate it, sometimes the complaint is completely unjustified, sometimes justified but even when justified its how you say it.
Even worse when they change their attitude if I am around and come over.

Pee'ing outside, especially when they do it up against the wall of the blokes wall- so it would have taken the same amount of time to walk to

[HopelesslydevotedtoGu]

When I did part time jobs in pubs as a student, some of the landlords were terrible with people. They had both been managing pubs for years but not staying anywhere for long. One was nice enough but really wooden and obviously very uncomfortable and stilted trying to talk to customers, another was notorious for picking arguments with customers ("this isn't fucking Starbucks" to an elderly lady asking for a coffee). they both lived in so were there the whole time putting customers off! They were paid a salary to run the pubs and I think kept getting moved on. Do you meet other pub landlords who are ill suited to the job and why do you think they want to do it?

[pinkyredrose]

I find the life of a publican fascinating. Do you own the business and premises, it's not a brewery pub?
The hours you work are phenomenal, is that usual, do you expect to always work those hours or would you get a manager in to take the load off?

[pinkyredrose]

Oh and, if it's an old Inn you run, is it haunted?! I watched a programme about an old Inn on the London to Brighton A road, can't remember what's its called but think Oliver Cromwell n his lot stayed there and now its apparently a documented haunted Inn. I'm now convinced that all old Inns are haunted!

[JuniperBeer]

Are you tied or a freehouse? Do you sell any cask ale?

[SquatsThoughtYouSaidShots]

HopelesslyDevoted
I suppose it’s like any workplace their are people that are not suited to that environment, most I meet like this though are tired and have been doing it all their life so not really able to easily move onto another career and have put no thought into it.
Additionally if they are live in they will be getting their accommodation as part of the package for “free” and many don’t think of the longer term and where they may live afterwards so get stuck within the industry.
Lots of managed houses are shit of by the brewery’s and don’t have a lot of freedom so become disillusioned.

The manager re coffee is an idiot not only for what he said but I would prefer to sell a coffee than a pint

[SquatsThoughtYouSaidShots]

I find the life of a publican fascinating. Do you own the business and premises, it's not a brewery pub?
The hours you work are phenomenal, is that usual, do you expect to always work those hours or would you get a manager in to take the load off?

It’s a free house, wasn’t always we had the business as a leasehold, and then bought it out completely.
We have a x 3 FOH management team (though they need shit loads some additional training) hence the crazy hours at the moment!

Yes it’s quite usual for those hours within the industry, especially with smaller pubs as the landlord/lady would have to put in a fair few hours behind the bar themselves to make the figures work.

We are lucky in that we don’t have to do that, maybe 15 hours a week at the moment, as we are a busy pub, the rest is all the other jobs that no one sees or thinks about.

[SquatsThoughtYouSaidShots]

Oh and, if it's an old Inn you run, is it haunted?! I watched a programme about an old Inn on the London to Brighton A road, can't remember what's its called but think Oliver Cromwell n his lot stayed there and now its apparently a documented haunted Inn. I'm now convinced that all old Inns are haunted!

It’s a very old Inn (with lots of extensions), I have heard lots of stories about ghosts, I only experienced one thing myself that was a little weird where I saw someone to my side a little back and could sense them their, I thought it was a member of staff so spoke to her turned around and no one was there, I went to find her to ask her if she wanted anything and she said she hadn’t been there... weird but who knows.

Apparently Cutlery has been moved in front of people across a table, a ladies voice has been heard by a few people talking in the same area, the area where I felt someone near me had a workman in recently and when I went to check up on him he mentioned someone keep coming there but not speaking and had gone whenever he turned around.
Some staff don’t like going into the cellar as they feel it’s spooky (I think they just don’t want to change the barrels ).
I don’t feel any bad energy/atmosphere in the building though.

[SquatsThoughtYouSaidShots]

Are you tied or a freehouse? Do you sell any cask ale?

It’s a free house, we have 2 regular ales on and one guest ale*

[HopelesslydevotedtoGu]

Do you think the smoking ban was good or bad for pubs?

[SquatsThoughtYouSaidShots]

Do you think the smoking ban was good or bad for pubs?
I’m only early 30’s so no experience of running a premises prior.
Even as a smoker I think it was probably a good thing generally , however it’s a pain in the arse trying to get patrons to be aware of the neighbours late a night when they are all smoking (or chatting to the smokers ) outside after having a few

I think the cheapness of alcohol in super markets is more damaging to pubs, both for people drinking at home completely (or pre drinks) and for people thinking pubs are so expensive because of the price they can pick alcohol up for, this is especially hard for tied pubs.
To tell you the truth if I was having a night in I would most likely drink at home also, but if I went out I wouldn’t moan in about the price of the drinks.
Also it’s mostly always the drinks, never the food, which on the whole we make a higher GP on...

[HopelesslydevotedtoGu]

I see local pubs increasingly serving food on black slates rather than plates. It drives me up the wall as eating off a plate is much easier and nicer, and I always wonder how clean the slate is.... Do you know why they do this? V often I see the staff spilling chips of the slate, hard to carry without dropping food off as you need to hold completely flat, do staff dislike them too?

[SquatsThoughtYouSaidShots]

We use plates only , and not even little baskets with chips in and baskets with peas in etc etc.
You can still plate up nicely without all the faff!
When I eat out and I have all the faffy pots I have to tip it all on my plate to be able to eat it- so no annoyingness is one of my few specifications to the kitchen!

How clean are they... plates get put through a hot dishwasher wood/slate etc I can’t imagine you can without damaging them longer term.

I guess they do it as they think it looks nice, maybe in a photo it does, but like you say why make the job on getting the food to the table harder than it needs to be!
Additionally as well as the spillage possibility, plates have a clear lip where no food goes and we can hold easily, I wouldn’t want people’s hands bashing the food I was about to eat.

Nice plates, plates up well, job done!