Captain Cork

01 January 2000
Captain Cork

A little more than a year ago, staff at Clancy's in Cork, Ireland, were absorbing the news that the business that had been owned by the same family for generations was to be taken over by a 28-year-old who had never run a pub in his life.

New owner Colin Ross was the first to admit that it could have been odd for them taking orders from someone they may consider, in his words, "hardly out of his wet nappies". A year on, however, and the number of familiar faces working in the pub and first-floor restaurant is evidence that he must have done something right.

Executive chef James Grimes admits that he was tempted to accept another job offer, prior to Ross taking over. "This time last year," he says, "I had the chance to jump ship - and I'm delighted that I didn't. It's been a very different experience working with Colin. He's a master of delegation, but it's given me a great sense of freedom to do what I want, within reason."

But the year has not been without traumas, and some major ones at that.

Ross's first mission was to embark on a top-to-toe refurbishment project. This was a controversial move considering that his plan was to completely modernise a very traditional pub, with the risk of upsetting its regulars.

Part of the refurbishment, to the delight of Grimes and his brigade, was a completely new kitchen with IR£50,000 worth of equipment. But this meant closing the restaurant for a while and buying in pub meals from an outside caterer.

The work on the pub and restaurant left the business running at 25% of its usual capacity for four months. Looking back, Ross wishes he had borrowed more money prior to the revamp. "It was very tight," he says. And his request to extend his loan halfway through the job was met with a "frosty" response from the bank.

The job ran over by around three weeks because of a misunderstanding over planning regulations. By way of compensation, Ross has now managed to persuade the architect and project manager to give him credit on their combined IR£5,000 worth of fees until next year.

The upshot of the kitchen closedown for head chef Frank O'Connor and senior sous chef Barry Downey was the chance to take a trip to some of London's top restaurants for inspiration. A visit to the Ivy restaurant in the West End provided O'Connor with the spur to set up a smoother service and to get new ideas.

"I wouldn't say there has been a tangible difference," says Grimes, "but it has opened their eyes to a different way of thinking. They are more adventurous."

Ross is disappointed that his electricity bills are still costing about IR£2,000 each month despite a number of economy measures, such as incorporating a new cold room to replace three freezers.

"It's difficult with so many staff members," he says. "It has slightly improved, but not enough." New ideas are also being considered, such as installing light-timer switches in upstairs rooms and corridors.

The biggest success over the year, says Ross, was obtaining a late licence to keep Clancy's open until 2am on Thursday-Saturday nights. Although this has meant the added burden of providing a free, hot meal to comply with licensing regulations, it has proved a success, with extra wet sales gradually increasing with each week. "It was quite intrinsic to get it right but now we are taking about IR£6,000 for the three nights," he says.

Ross is satisfied with an upturn in covers since the beginning of the year. The restaurant is now averaging 1,075 covers a week at IR£17 (£14.78) per head, compared with the previous 1,000 at IR£13.84 (£12.03).Pub lunches are also steadily rising, with an average 3,300 per week, up from 2,700 before.

Grimes, meanwhile, is pleased with an improvement to the quality of the pub food, which he puts down to the addition of skilled cooks.

"The wage bill has gone up," he says, "but that's alright providing the product is made better because of it."

Ross's priority next year is to increase turnover and recoup some of the losses which resulted from the expense of the building costs. "Secondary is to cut down on overheads such as power and cleaning expenses," he says.

Ross describes his first year as a landlord and restaurant owner as "turbulent and stressful". And even though he still hardly has a minute to himself, he adds: "It was worth it. It has also been very exciting. Things are going very well now."

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