Beating the burglars
The Rising Sun has been stuck under a cloud almost since it opened. Last month could be counted as one of its blackest, with a break-in that wiped out a week's takings.
Now, apart from battling to build the business, Catherine Chauvet has to cope with the trauma of the burglary. The short-term problem is the uninsured cash lost to the struggling business. In the longer term, both Chauvet and her staff have to cope with the psychological damage done by such an experience.
When chef Mike Hunter locked up the Rising Sun on 25 June after a quiet Sunday evening's business, he had little idea what he would face on his return.
Coming back to the pub in early hours, Hunter discovered a break-in. Thieves had made off with almost a week's takings together with cheques, change and even tobacco.
The crooks had made their entrance through a skylight in the women's toilets, forcing bolts on the door to the toilets to gain the full run of the building.
The police were called but, despite further inquiries which led to an arrest, nobody has been formally charged. The theft at the Rising Sun looks set to join the growing list of unsolved crimes.
About £1,700 in cash, cheques and change was stolen. While Chauvet does have insurance for cash stolen, it is limited to £500, £100 of which will be swallowed up in the excess charge. Thankfully, there was little damage done to the pub itself and only a small amount of clearing up was needed.
Invasion of privacy
For a business which is only just ticking over, the loss is serious. But it is not terminal as Chauvet can rely on her other pub, the Westbury Inn, at Westbury-sub-Mendip, Somerset, to tide things over financially.
The real damage has been to the morale of Chauvet and her staff, for whom the pub is home as well as work-place. John Power, the bar manager who has been running the pub during the past few months, lives at the pub alongside Hunter, and had gone out for the evening.
Both have suffered an invasion of privacy by criminals entering their home. For Chauvet, as a woman, there is even more fear. "The first night I stayed at the Rising Sun after the break-in I didn't sleep at all," she says.
The pub's isolated position is a particular worry. It is situated on a lonely stretch of the A30, and the nearest police station is almost 20 miles away.
The theft has provided the spur for a thorough security review, however. The Rising Sun, like all cash businesses, is especially vulnerable to crime. A thief can sit sipping a pint while studying the staff's movements and the amount of money being handled without raising suspicion.
The key to deterring theft is to make the premises more difficult to break into and less rewarding than other targets. Short of implementing a Fort Knox-style security operation, a hospitality business can never eliminate all risks of crime. And Fort Knox is hardly the welcoming image a business wants to attract genuine customers.
At the Rising Sun, there were sensible preventative measures in place. Banking was usually done regularly but, for what Chauvet believes was the first time, there had been no visit to the bank for several days immediately before the break-in.
Cash was not allowed to build up in the till, either. It is removed and taken to a safe in the office. In yet another unfortunate coincidence, the safe key had broken and the safe was out of use for a few weeks.
Another deterrent against thieves is that somebody would be on the premises. Again, almost unprecedented, the pub was left empty even if just for a few hours.
It would be almost impossible for all three things to go wrong again at the same time, but Chauvet has taken other steps. The police have warned her that the thieves are likely to attempt another burglary now that they have seen what is behind the scenes at the pub.
Readers may be wondering what additional steps Chauvet has taken. But Caterer's readers could include the thief, so the new security measures must remain secret.
Helping to keep Chauvet's mind off the break-in has been a rush of consultancy work. She has helped out a garden centre that wanted to establish a catering service for its customers.
"Like most people starting out in catering, they thought they had to buy lots of equipment. I saved them money there," she says.
Keeping busy
Other consultancy clients in the past month have included a nightclub in Crewkerne, Somerset, that wanted to extend its catering operation, and a couple who were considering buying a pub.
Another break for Chauvet came when she visited Merrychef. After a day at the company's offices, she was convinced that microwaves can have a role to play in good cooking.
"The problem is that so many people who buy microwave ovens think they solve all their problems," she says. "But Merrychef showed me that microwaves are not just about getting something out of the freezer and cooking it."
The new management couple at the Westbury Inn appear to be settling in and Chauvet is looking at social events to boost trade. An inter-pub darts match was organised between both pubs in mid-June. Chauvet hired a minibus for £35 and drove the Westbury team to the Rising Sun for the contest.
A return match was held on June 10, this time with Power driving the Rising Sun team.
The first match resulted in an 8-0 defeat for the Rising Sun. Some pride was restored on the return contest, however, with a closer 3-5 defeat. "The Rising Sun team is determined to win next time," says Chauvet.
The leap in the Rising Sun's wet trade comes from providing a bar at a wedding on 8 July. Power organised the operation while one of the full-time bar staff at the Westbury was drafted in to hold the fort at the pub. The efforts added £847 to that week's takings.
Other attempts to boost trade at the pub do not appear to be working so well. Chauvet noticed little improvement following the advertisements that were run on local radio.
"Trade is okay but it could still be better. I don't feel that confident, perhaps the business will always be a ticker," she says.
