Christmas bonus
After the catastrophes of last month, the team at the Crown are preparing for a busy Christmas period and looking forward to an unexpected day off. Helen Adkins reports.
Ian Shipman is feeling great. He's just got back from a skiing holiday in the French Alps - the first break he's had since the Crown opened - the restaurant has not had any other disasters, revenue is up, and December's bookings are looking good.
Covers are up from 320 a week in September and October to 480 a week in November. And forecasts for Christmas are at 690 a week. "We had a very good uptake from the mail-shots we sent out last month, so that figure is expected to rise during the Christmas period," he says.
Offers of Christmas lunch and dinner for £17.50 and £25 per head respectively have proved popular. The Crown is now fully booked on Fridays and Saturdays until Christmas, and Thursdays are filling up fast.
Weekly turnover has risen to £15,500 and Shipman is confident it will hit the projected figure of £20,000 by Christmas.
The marketing Shipman employed for the first time last month appears to have done its job. Party bookings are coming in thick and fast, from small corporate groups of 10 or more bankers, solicitors or accountants to larger events held in the Red Room, the old snug that holds about 20. One local social group has hired the entire 60-seat restaurant on the last Sunday before Christmas.
Lunchtime trade is improving, with covers up from 100 in October to 160 a week in November. Weekday evening trade is also up, with Tuesday evenings described by Shipman as "a phenomenon". Covers have risen on that day from 15 in October to around 60 in November and December. "Why?" asks Shipman. "I haven't a clue. It must be the day for eating out round here."
Mondays, however, remain disappointing. With evening covers at 15 each week, a decision has been made to close the restaurant on that day in the New Year. "Monday just hasn't taken off at all," says Shipman. "So, we've been reviewing whether to stay open at all. We've looked at the revenues and the cost of keeping on staff and decided that it's just not worth staying open that day."
Further reviews of the business have led to a decision to close on New Year's Eve. While the Christmas Day offer, a six-course meal at £65 a head has brought in 60 bookings, the New Year's Eve gourmet menu at £85 a head hasn't pulled in the crowds. Shipman has received only eight bookings, so he has decided to cancel the evening altogether.
Shipman explains: "A lot of people we expected would come on New Year's Eve have told us they are having house parties, or they have children and can't get sitters, or have other plans. I don't know whether price had anything to do with it. It was an expensive deal, but we were offering an exclusive dining experience, with a champagne reception and six-course gourmet meal."
The Crown will open at lunchtime on Boxing Day in response to local demand. A light set menu costing between £20 and £25, "with no turkey in sight" is being drawn up for the 40 bookings already received. The staff Christmas party planned for Boxing Day will be postponed until January and, of course, staff will get New Year's Eve and New Year's Day off instead.
Shipman, who has worked on New Year's Eve for the past 10 years, must now find somewhere to go himself. "I'd better get myself a few invitations," he says.
The story so far
Having survived a series of disasters involving floods, fire and electrical failure, the team at the Crown, at Iverley, West Midlands, are looking forward to the Christmas season.
Last month director and restaurant manager Ian Shipman began marketing the restaurant for the first time and is now hoping to see some results.
The Crown
Norton Road, Iverley, Stourbridge, West Midlands DY8 2RX
Tel: 01562 883004
Parent company: Food Experience2
Directors: Ian Shipman and Robert Banks
Lease price: £60,000
Investment: £300,000
Annual rent: £16,500
Number of staff: 12
Number of seats: 60
Covers per week: 480
Average spend: £19
Weekly turnover: £15,500
Projected turnover per week: £20,000
