To ask what does your local pub do to impress you?

[PubFairyGodmother]

Totally posting for traffic!

I run a small village pub. We’re off the main road, people have to be coming to our village to find us.

We open 6 days a week, all day, serve food at lunch and dinner times. We have a main bar, a smaller room and a function room. These additional rooms are regularly used by local groups for meetings - we don’t charge for the rooms for local groups, but people buy drinks and they help make the place feel busy mid-week.

We have 2 darts teams, regular monthly quizzes. We’ve stepped back from regular live music, so many places do it, the local bands can always be seen somewhere else next week (ie no incentive to come to the sticks) and they charge a lot, it doesn’t always make financial sense.

I’m just wondering if any of your local pubs do something that you think “oh that’s a good idea!”? Let’s face it, I doubt we’ll be in competition! Anything in the pub or anything online? I need to find some untapped markets to keep our lovely pub going!! Thank you

Have a really good Instagram account, display the beauty of your pub and the village as well, same with Facebook- make sure to post to community sites so people know what you're offering and when, but also just provide updates "The first frost has fallen on the Bell and Whistle, thankfully we've got the fire on and a cosy drink at the ready."
Take part in national events like Children in Need, and get that posted as well- you could have a raffle or theme the weekly pub quiz a little bit for the event.
Also, post on local walking group FB pages, advertise yourself as the ideal stop off on the way around.
If you have hotels, B&Bs etc. nearby, check that they're recommending you as a local place to eat.
I also agree with previous posters about events for children, like the 'letters for santa' idea (your local rotary club could help with that).

Dog friendly
Open fire
Friendly in general, a lot of nice people. Nice staff who are friendly and treated well, happy to be there.
They put acts on but I can see why you'd not want to, maybe find some unusual tribute acts or comedy or something unusual?
Advertise more?
Loyalty scheme for drinks/food

You’ve got a lot of suggestions here, some quite a hassle / expense to achieve.

My suggestion is simple: get a few classic board games. Four of us go to the pub to play scrabble once a week. And light the fire in the winter if you have a fireplace - it’s so cosy and a major draw over other pubs.

Also just to say GOOD LUCK OP.

I love a good pub and love to support local. I grew up in good old fashioned family friendly pub culture. So many laughs and a lovely sociable place to be, doesn’t have to be about excess boozing.

Do you have cycling groups (like CTC) going through your village? They’re always on the lookout for somewhere for coffee and cake or lunch. You could contact them and offer a discount or something?

Really good service. Well trained waiting staff with good serving skills.

Kids
Tea and cake ... with a bubbly gin option
Safe area for children to play outside
Decent childrens menu - for different ages eg 1 fish finger for a 2 year old... 3 for an 8nyear old type thing

What about some sharing plates together more £ when the darts team come in or groups not in for dinner

Good quizz

Sorry not very new ideas just listing what I've seen ..

I think people will.travelnfor well priced nice food. I don't think you need endless options. Do you have a usp to market ? Like hestons triple cooked chips!

A REALLY GOOD ploughman’s. Why does nowhere do a ploughman’s anymore… 😢

So many good suggestions (and lots that I wouldn’t be bothered about or I would actively dislike - theme evenings/food nope!). You’ll have to pick and choose what will appeal to your local demographic but are there parents with young babies/children around you? We were always looking for a nice daytime pub during the week on maternity leave - especially if you have a garden. Could be a good way to get day time traffic. Also love the thought of games, knitting/crochet group, family film evenings, the amazing Christmas suggestions from one poster (hot chocolates, mince pies, carols, Father Christmas letter writing), and just basically being the village hub with AMAZING food and wine!

I used to live near here in London
People would go to get that country cosy feel ... had a fire, good food... etc

Have you a brown sign? In the good food guides etc?

www.theabbeville.co.uk/

Keep social media up to date with menu specials, activities/events etc
a cozy atmosphere is an absolute must! Roasting fire, candles, fairy lights, nice cushions/soft furnishings
no high bar stools with tall tables! So uncomfy, I’ll walk out of a pub rather than sit in these. Proper tables and comfy chairs with backs.
friendly welcoming staff
oh also! Good selection of wine.

A clear identity and personality to the place.
Maybe on a theme night, see if you can partner with someone who might be available to be booked as a taxi.
A clean place, comfortable seats with little nooks for groups to chat.
Good lighting, cosy and dim, not bright and industrial.
A menu that's simple, does a few things really well, local suppliers if possible. I like to read their stories too. There may be distinctive products locally that you could use in interesting ways.
Somewhere that advertised itself as a place for local groups to meet and figures out what they might like.
Parking and a well lit car park.
Clean bathrooms.
I guess the important thing is that you've to divide each customer group up and figure out what each needs. Not one thing does it, but a variety.
Using all the social media channels and speaking directly to those groups helps. The outside of your pub might signal that it's for one type of clientele, so you need to make it clear who you'd love to see in.
Partnerships with local creatives.
The pub holding the identity of the place it is in, local references and art/decor etc., so it feels unique.

Our village pub runs some Art nights with Pizza ( local artists runs the class and pub provides the Pizza), occasional Festive Craft Evenings ( Christmas wreaths etc), Open Mike Nights ( very popular) Quiz Nights and Theme food nights- eg Italian , Mexican menu. They organise a Santa parade, Father Christmas with grotto, and have the Christmas tree.
They also are very popular for informal small Wedding receptions as well as Wakes.

So many suggestions! Thank you so much! I just wanted to let you know that I’m still here, reading everything and am so appreciative of the time you’ve all taken, thank you!

I don’t go to the pub often but when I do I want -

To order at the bar or table. Don’t make me use an app.

A decent gluten free menu. Including puddings. I can rarely have dessert.

Comfy seating. I don’t want to perch on a stool at a high table or eat dinner on a wooden chair with no cushions.

What I don’t want -

Dogs sniffing round me when I’m eating.

Loud music so I can’t hear conversation.

Dirty toilets with doors that don’t lock.

Overpriced food that is obviously microwaved.

Im going to repeat scrupulously clean loos because it so important! And they cant have that cheap disinfectant smell. And please dont place a table near them especially of you expect people to eat there!

Staff who can see women at the bar would be nice.

Staff who recognise regulars . My local has staff that look at me blankly even though we are regulars and tend to order the same thing.

A good mix of tables available for reservation and some kept free ( if you have the space)

Also depending on space - a separate family room for parties with kids and babies.

Bacon Fries and Scampi Fries!

I travel further to go to a pub that does excellent food, and has a good selection of meals available in a smaller portion size. They also have a good variety of drinks. It's more expensive than my local but it's worth it.
They have different events - christmas markets, a cheese and wine day, charity walks etc.
The service is excellent and the beer garden is a nice space.

Quiz nights

Basics good friendly service.. if its dog friendy. Bowls of water and give them a treat without asking

Try to remember everyones names and what they drink (write it down for next time!l

One of my locals hosts a trad music night , lots of local musicians young and old play together always gets a crowd.

And yes to spotless loos

And put out on your Facebook/insta something like "the nights are drawing in, if you want to bring your bookclub here, we can reserve a cosy spot and have snacks at the ready etc". Tell people what you're up for hosting. Means they don't have to summon up courage to contact you cold.

I guess it really depends on whi you want to attract. There's certain things recommended in this thread that would 100% make me avoid the place to be honest. So you need to figure out the market you're after before getting ideas. Some pubs "do it all" and it's not always a good thing - jack of all trades, master of none - IYSWIM.

Not read the whole thread so apologies if this has already been addressed. I just felt compelled to comment after reading some of the suggestions that would put me off. X

A good range of non alcoholic drinks which aren't a rip off would be good.
Decent house wines for less than a fiver a glass.
Pub grub which is of good quality and varied. Specials change regularly.
Do decent chips - golden brown and crispy! Not floppy and anaemic.
I prefer no TV and especially not sports events on full blast with yahooing blokes taking over the space.
Personally I don't want kids hanging around the actual bar or running about. By all means have a family friendly area but allow for those who want the pub to be an adult environment. It's hard to do both in reality.
No 'open mic' nights or other cringeworthy cheapo entertainment.

Quiz nights weekly, dominoes and darts, decent food, don’t close early on nights when quiet as then people think you aren’t reliable, bingo nights, things like horse racing nights (tv/video ones!), themed nights. Warm, inviting staff! And nice loos and keeping the place warm x

Rock and roll bingo nights

I have 42 pubs within a 12 minute walk of my house. Yes, I’ve counted.

But only one that I consider to be my local that I am a regular in. It must be good with all that competition!

it doesn’t serve food. That means it can concentrate on being a great pub.

among things I love about it:

• really good house wine, reasonably priced
• great selection and good rotation of good beers and ales
• live music regularly
• a nice garden that is covered by a heated teepee in the winter (they do a deal with the company who get the benefit of a winter rental)
• great bar staff who know my name and remember what I drink
• a friendly but buzzy vibe with a good variety of customers.
• comfortable chairs! (I’m old!)