Golden oldies
Mick Jagger snarls Honky Tonk Woman over the sound system and the businessmen in the corner prick up their ears. A smile creeps over their faces, and spreading waistlines are forgotten in a haze of memories. At least, that's the effect Allied Domecq is hoping for with its latest pub brand, Golden Oak Inns, which is designed to attract the baby boom generation.
The 1960s and early 1970s soundtrack playing at the Cock Inn, Wishaw, the brand's first outlet, is no coincidence. The over-40s are, as Prime Minister Tony Blair recently emphasised, the first rock ‘n' roll generation, brought up on the Beatles, colour television and Woodstock.
"The over-40s are an influential part of the pub-going market and are growing in importance," says Martyn Grealy, marketing and development director at Allied Domecq Leisure. "The age group is expanding, and many in it are more affluent since their children have left home."
But Golden Oak Inns is certainly no nostalgia trip. The fledgeling group intends to take the best of the traditional country pub and marry it with the 1990s' success story of pub retailing: foodie pubs, specialising in high-quality food and drink with restaurant-style service.
Allied Domecq plans to invest up to £2.1m in six pubs under the Golden Oak Inns umbrella between now and November in the Midlands and the South-east. The brand will then be evaluated for six months before making a decision on its future. The first tranche of pubs will be selected from Allied Domecq's existing estate. Chosen sites will all have some kind of heritage interest and the pubs' original names will be retained. The Cock Inn, near Sutton Coldfield, is the first pub in the group to open, to be followed by two sites in Surrey, at Godstone and Weybridge, one at Childerditch, Essex, and one at Lichfield, Staffordshire.
Crucial to the Golden Oak Inns concept is the quality of the food and drink, hence the decision to involve renowned chef Daniel Galmiche, of Harvey's restaurant in Bristol, part of the Allied Domecq empire.
Galmiche advised on menu development and has suggested a number of specials, which change every day. A comprehensive menu for lunch and dinner includes classic British dishes such as steak and mushroom suet pudding (£6.25), fish and chips (£5.25) and sirloin steak with port and Stilton sauce (£10.95).
More exotic and Mediterranean influences are also included, with dishes like grilled jerk barbecue chicken kebabs (£3.25) and warmed spicy sausage salad with pan-fried potato and fresh herbs (£5.95). A light lunch menu also includes pub classics such as jacket potatoes and sandwiches for between £2.75 and £3.95.
Alongside the menu is a wide-ranging wine selection chosen with the help of Master of Wine Hugh Suter. The pub also includes a range of traditional real ales and guest ales.
To ensure consistent standards of food and drink, Allied Domecq has decided that each pub should be accredited by the Les Routiers organisation. "It is important to have some form of independent endorsement that gives support to your offering in the eyes of the customer," says Grealy. "We've made our lives tougher by having it, but it was important."
The pub is also setting its sights high in aiming for an equal wet-to-dry ratio. Average spend per head at dinner is £10.50 for food only, while at lunch it is £7.50 for food. As Cock Inn manager Nigel Wilkes points out, this is already higher than the average pub spend, but indications are that the typical Golden Oak Inns punter wants value for money and is willing to pay more for quality.
The historic Cock Inn is a good example of Golden Oak Inns' intention to marry the best of the past and present. The pub first opened in 1782 when it was a cock-fighting and gambling venue, rumoured to have been visited by highwayman Dick Turpin. In its new guise, the pub is as individual and characterful as it has ever been - so much so that the average customer is unlikely to realise it is owned by one of the biggest pub retailers in the country.
Original beams and wood have been retained throughout the refurbishment, but the restaurant walls have been finished with modern terracotta and wall hangings. Floors are part-tiled, part-wooden and distressed farmhouse furniture is used to seat 150. Future sites will be of a similar size, with at least 120 seats - fewer is uneconomic. So far, evening trade and weekends have proved the pub's busiest periods, when 85 to 90 covers are served a night.
Inevitably, the redevelopment programme will not suit all the existing pub managers and some departures are expected. So the hunt is on for dynamic and ambitious individuals with entrepreneurial skills who have some empathy with what the brand is trying to do.
Wilkes, a former restaurateur, is one such individual and has played a large part in creating the Cock Inn and developing the Golden Oak concept. As manager of the pub-restaurant, he is constantly present, watching the bar staff and waiters, greeting the customers with a friendly word and even waiting on tables. Since opening on 9 June, the Cock Inn has been extremely busy, but Wilkes still has plenty of energy for the second phase of the group's growth. When the next group of openings begin this month, he will also be on hand to ensure the brand's standards are maintained and to train managers and staff.
All will be seeking to emulate the Cock Inn's early success, where applications for a Golden Oaks loyalty card scheme reached 500 in just five weeks of trading.
As Wilkes and Grealy are keen to point out, the Cock Inn may well be a country pub, but it is also just 15 minutes' drive from the West Midlands conurbation and a market of millions. In the light of this, Allied Domecq is confident that its interpretation of the traditional British hostelry will prove a success.
