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How to... run a pub
ANYONE who spends a lot of time in the pub has probably wondered what it would be like to actually run their local.
ANYONE who spends a lot of time in the pub has probably wondered what it would be like to actually run their local.There are few drinkers who haven't cast their eyes around their establishment of choice and pictured themselves strutting around the place in their shirtsleeves, exchanging friendly banter with the locals and enjoying the odd pint on the house.
"If I love being in the pub, wouldn't it be great to have a job that meant I could stay there all the time?" – you can actually see it in some lunchtime drinkers' faces.
I must admit to indulging in landlord fantasies myself from time to time. There is a certain romance in making other people feel comfortable and happy for a living . . . being able to enjoy the warm and safe confines of the pub knowing that no one can berate you for it because it is your job.
And so it made sense for the purposes of the feature to visit a man who is relatively new to the pub game in order to find out if this idyll would stand up to closer investigation. Of course, I knew very well that it wouldn't – one of my first jobs was in a pub, stocking the fridge first thing in the morning and clearing up the place, and the landlord would always have been up for hours when I got there at seven in the morning.
Mike Harris, who has co-owned Goodbarns Yard in St Johns Road for about seven months with business partner Ian Smith, said he was under no illusions about the sheer graft involved.
"There are a lot of things about being here that are absolutely brilliant, but like any job, there are things that aren't so good," he said.
"I'm rarely in bed before one in the morning, but usually two, and I get up at seven at the latest."
Already, this essential qualification would make the job prohibitive for myself and nearly everybody I know. On top of the long hours is the fact that – necessarily – running a pub comes with a lot of paperwork and legislation, all of which must be understood and digested.
Mike explained that he has attended courses and spent weeks preparing for becoming Goodbarns' DPS – the designated premises supervisor.
"It basically means that if anything happens, I carry the can," he said.
And even the most ordered of local pubs have the kind of problems that are inevitable when strangers get together in one room with a few pints on board.
Aside from dealing with any rare occurrences of trouble (or more importantly, preventing it), Ian said one of the most important aspects of the job is the responsibility that comes with serving drink, not least the inevitable approaches from our underage friends.
"They will always try it, because most people do," he said.
"It can be almost a game to them to try to get served, but we have to take the line that it's our living and our business that's in jeopardy if they are served alcohol."
The smoking legislation has also changed the face of the pub forever. Whatever your stance on the effect it’s had on the nation’s pubs, there’s no denying that it’s your tenant/landlord that has to enforce it, and Ian admitted that asking long-time regulars to stand outside can sometimes be a little tricky.
“But again, it’s the law, and we have to uphold it,” he said.
So what about my rose-tinted picture of swanning around and chatting to the locals? Mike said this is one of the genuine joys of the job.
“A pub is made by the people that go there,” he said.
“When we have live music, it’s very rewarding when you can see that people are having a really good time – it’s what makes it for me.”
Managing a good blend of people in a pub is also essential to its atmosphere. How many times have you walked into a strange pub only for every aged, drunken face to turn around and for the piano player to stop?
“We’ve tried to encourage a good mix of people with things like our live music, and that’s a really good thing,” Ian said.
“When a pub’s full of young people they will behave like very young people and likewise, if they aren’t around, then it can sometimes seem quiet.”
So the pub game is indeed multi-faceted, and it seems there is much more to it than I’d initially thought.
On top of all this is the fact that it is a business, like any other, which must be managed as such, with negotiations with breweries and all kinds of decisions to be taken in between.
Despite all this, Mike said he wouldn’t change it.
“The best thing about it is when you’ve had a busy night, when people have had a good time, and we get to sit down here for a little while and enjoy a couple of drinks ourselves,” he said.
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Thursday 24 May 2012
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