Running a Country Pub

Part 1: Alison Said No

In 2014 my friend Lynn Mitchell managed the Beaumont Arms, and I'd help her out in the kitchen at weekends.

Eventually the pub closed for a refit.

Now, as refits go, it looked like my granny's front room with Toby jugs glued to every wall.

Some bits were alright.

Most of it already looked dated.

One thing definitely got replaced though.

Lynn.

The pub reopened and did really well for a while.

Then Harvey's opened nearby.

Business dropped off and Lynn started badgering me relentlessly.

"You should take it on."

"No."

In May 2017 Alison and I went to have a look.

It happened to be the Yetton Rant, a huge annual fair that's been going for around 150 years.

Normally the Beaumont Arms would have been absolutely packed.

Instead...

We walked into an empty pub.

Most of the lights were off.

There was no music.

The place felt depressing.

Alison looked around.

"No."

Lynn carried on asking.

Still no.

Then, in December 2017, the pub closed altogether.

She rang again.

"Just come and have a look."

So I met the Punch Taverns representative.

The meeting lasted about five minutes.

He basically said,

"Yes, you can have it."

He threw me the keys and told me to pay the deposit.

The deal?

Three months rent free.

Then peppercorn rent for a year.

Bargain.

We took over and spent weeks cleaning.

Five skips of rubbish came out before we'd even really started.

By February 2018 we were finally ready to open.

Then our first Friday arrived.

It snowed.

And Lynn quit.

We'd been open only a matter of days...

...and we were already on our own.

Part 2 next week: The Manager Who Binned the CVs.