Trou believers

I left the Army four years ago because we wanted to try our hands at running a business and because the lifestyle is fairly disruptive, especially for our three children. Neither Susie nor I had any previous experience in the catering industry, but I had enrolled on various business courses while in the Army, and it's not exactly rocket science.

We live above the café, which is a bit of a mixed blessing. On the one hand it's very convenient, but it does mean that our family life is completely interlinked with work. We don't even have a kitchen upstairs - all our meals are from the restaurant.

As far as our daily routines are concerned, we're diametrically opposed. Susie gets up at 7.30am and takes the children to school. Breakfast, like all our meals, is eaten on the hoof whenever there's a spare moment.

She then spends time in the office, working closely with the finance manager. Different things pop up as the need arises but, typically, she spends the morning checking on the daily specials, updating the tills, carrying out stock controls and supervising ordering.

I get up at 10.30am and my breakfast consists of coffee with a pain au chocolat and a cigarette. I do try to keep in shape, going to the gym once a week. My personal trainer's mission is to act as a counterweight to my extreme and ill-disciplined lifestyle. It is pretty hectic. Every six weeks or so the top of my head flies off and I get on my motorbike and head off to some remote part of the British Isles or the battlefields of France to spend some time alone.

I normally take care of equipment problems and human resources. I try to go wherever it's critical, identifying problems, getting involved and reassuring the staff. I visit the various managers individually and discuss what needs to be done.

Susie and I try to have lunch together to catch up, although it depends on when we get a spare moment. Once again, we eat from the menu, usually one of the day's specials. This gives us variety and the chance to give our opinion to the chef.

In the afternoon, Susie will invariably get in the car and fetch some equipment or stock. She picks the girls up from school at 3.30pm and, as long as the café is not too busy, tries to spend the rest of the afternoon with them until their bath time.

Since time is so precious, anticipation and organisation is vital. We used to try to remember things, but there was just too much information - retail is detail. We've just invested about £15,000 in a computer system, which has been a huge success. It's improved our management capabilities enormously.

We often go out to eat in the evenings for a change of scenery, but sometimes it's all hands to the pump. It really gets going at about 7pm. The evening shift supplies about 75% of our business - we do about 250 covers on an average night, with snacks for another 120 downstairs, where we provide live entertainment every night: poetry, comedy, jazz and blues.

Susie tries to spend the evening upstairs, but inevitably she gets drawn back to the restaurant. Whereas I tend to lurk in the shadows, she loves waitressing and is very good at interacting with the customers, which is an essential part of the success of the café. She tries to be in bed by 11pm.

The restaurant closes at 12.30am and there is usually about one hour of administration, cashing up and cleaning before all the staff sit down together for half-an-hour or so. I consider this absolutely essential to team building, and it's the best part of 2am before I go upstairs.

interview by Thomas Cary

Just a minute…

What do you find most rewarding about your job?
The biggest bonus is the fact that friends from all spheres of life actually come and find you. It's a great way to stay in touch.

What is the greatest challenge you have faced at work?
When we were thinking about taking the café over, some friends of ours asked: "How strong is your marriage?" They were not empty words. It is a fairly hectic lifestyle and can get pretty intense - the divorce papers are usually on the table by about 2pm - but in the end we wouldn't give it up for all the tea in China.

The Troubadour Café

265 Old Brompton Road, London SW5 9JA
Tel: 020 7341 6333www.troubadour.co.uk

Owners: Simon and Susie Thornhill
Staff: 40 (12 full-time)
Seats: 290
Annual turnover: £1m-plus (less than £200,000 in 1998)
Hours: deli 7am-9pm; café 9am-12.30pm