Better Business – The Crown in Stoke-by-Nayland
The Crown in Stoke-by-Nayland has won awards in the 2011 editions of the Good Pub and Michelin Eating Out guides and has two AA rosettes. Owner Richard Sunderland talks to Janet Harmer.
NEED-TO-KNOW
After spending 20 years working for wine merchants Lay & Wheeler, supplying wine to the hospitality industry, Richard Sunderland decided he wanted to run a pub and hotel himself. With his wife, Sacha, he bought the freehold of the Crown, in the Suffolk village of Stoke-by-Nayland, in February 2003.
Following a major refurbishment and an extension to the kitchen, the 16th century inn opened for business nine months later. Plans to build a 11-bedroom hotel in the grounds of the pub took longer to come to fruition due to planning restrictions as a result of being situated in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The boutique hotel eventually opened, at a development cost of more than £1m, in September 2008.
TARGET AUDIENCE
Most of the customers in the pub-restaurant at lunch are made up of ladies-who-lunch and retirees, with a smattering of businessmen and women who drive out from Colchester 20 minutes away. "We are in the midst of the commuter belt and have a lot of middle to higher income earners come to eat dinner with us," says Sunderland. "Some commuters come here to eat three times a week."
The hotel tends to be filled by corporate business from Colchester and Ipswich during the week. "We get a lot of senior managers staying with us who want somewhere individual, rather than branded, to stay. They are also looking for five star service, without the five star price." At weekends, the hotel fills up with guests on leisure breaks.
THE FOOD
"We always intended to be a big food operation," says Sunderland, who describes the cuisine as simple, modern British. "We don't pretend to offer Michelin-starred food, but we do offer a very good quality product." The menu offers a daily changing selection of four fish dishes, caught off the nearby Suffolk coast, alongside a choice of eight starters, eight main courses and seven desserts. The best selling dish is battered haddock and thick cut chips, which sells at £11.25. More than 18,000 portions were sold last year.
THE WINE
With Sunderland's background in wine, it is hardly surprising that the Crown prides itself on its vinous offer. As well as a 250 bin wine list, it has 30 wines by the glass, ranging from £2.60 for a 12ml glass of Colombard to £8.10 for a 175ml glass of Sancerre. "We sell a huge amount of wine by the glass - £20,000 worth in a six week period." An area which was difficult to incorporate into the pub has been turned into a very successful wine shop.
HOW DOES IT MARKET ITSELF?
Most of the customers and guests come to the Crown as a result of recommendations. "We've done very little advertising of the pub, what we have done tends to be linked to charities," says Sunderland. "With the hotel it is a bit different as we need to attract guests from further afield."
As a result, the Crown has placed several advertisements - incorporating competitions offering an overnight stay at the hotel as the prize - in several lifestyle magazines in London, such as The Resident
Journalists have also been encouraged to stay at the Crown and as a result several favourable reviews have appeared in the likes of the Evening Standard and the Sunday Telegraph.
FUTURE PLANS
Business has been so good at the Crown that the Sunderlands are now considering adding another nine bedrooms, as well as looking at a site for a second pub/restaurant/hotel.
Business doesn't seem to have been badly affected by the recession, probably because of the pub/hotel's wealthy location. Any sticky times have been due to unexpected bad weather or as a result of having to pay out £20,000 to build a sub-station in the grounds as the village could not support the surge in power following the Crown's expansion.
Extra expenses incurred by the hotel build going £100,000 over budget and business rates increasing from £40,000 to £135,000 per annum following the hotel's opening, have been tricky too. "While the banks have been difficult by not lending us the extra money we've needed, we have been lucky that business has been good, enabling us to finance the extra expense out of cash flow," explains Sunderland.
RICHARD SUNDERLAND'S REVELATIONSFavourite hotel The Ritz, London
Favourite restaurant The Wolseley, London
Favourite book The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding
Which hotelier do you most admire? My late brother in law Bruno Boelen, owner of the Relais & ChÁ¢teau hotel La Ferme St Simeon in Honfleur, France. He was multi-talented and always put life into perspective, a wonderful man and I miss him.
Who do you most admire in the hospitality industry? Sir Terence Conran
Business advice Number one is to have a sense of humour, so that when things get tough you can see the funny side. Keep things simple and flexible, don't over complicate. Whatever you do make sure you have a business plan in place. Always listen, be it to customers, suppliers or colleagues as you will never have all the answers, but they may come up with the right questions!
Describe your business in five words? Understated substance, relaxed, fun, & busy.
SPOTLIGHT ON DESIGN
Situated at the rear of the pub, the hotel offers 11 bedrooms which are all individually designed. On the ground floor, the rooms are cool and contemporary, while the upstairs rooms have a more country house style. Furniture is from Henderson Russell, wallpapers from Nina Campbell and accessories from local craftsman, Jim Lawrence Traditional Ironworks.
"One of the directors of the business, Peter Smith, has done all our interiors for us and has done a brilliant job," says Sunderland. "He trained as a graphic designer and has a great eye for getting the attention to detail right. We've been very lucky."
