Star Pubs & Bars tenants, Cheryl and Paul Brew joined their newly refurbished pub, The Spanker Inn, just after the first lockdown hit. Already well established within the hearts of customers, BII’s Eleanor Kirby spoke to Cheryl to talk about the values that create lasting community connections in Belper, Derbyshire.
“We opened properly on 4th July 2020, which means we missed the £35,000 support from the Government by a week. What we did receive, like the Christmas support grant, kept our heads just above water.” Having both been in the pub game for 25 years, Cheryl’s knowledge of the local area and what her customers best respond to is evidence of living most of her adult life in Derbyshire. “It was very exciting to have Star invest in The Spanker, because it’s a very community minded village and it was great for them to see the pub company invest in their pub, in their community. It makes you very proud of what we are and where we are.”
It’s clear to see that Cheryl and Paul have made an effort to connect with those around them, having recently hosted a pub quiz in aid of Andy Lathem (a local customer raising awareness of prostate cancer following his own diagnosis). “Andy set his mind of raising awareness more than money, but he was a big cricketer in his day and so did 60 in 60 (he turned 60 this year) and walked 60 boundaries round all the cricket grounds.” Raising over £800 for the charity involved hosting 12 teams for the quiz night, as well as selling raffle tickets with prizes. At the end of the night, Cheryl says, a team member came up and said, “I love what you two have done for the community.” She continues, “To hear that from somebody really warms your heart, it makes persevering through the tough times worth it, to have that feeling of love or warmth come back to you from the community.”
It’s no wonder Cheryl and Paul were recipients of our Heart of the Community Award in 2020; with every event, idea and way of working, Cheryl is conscious of how it helps the people living around them. “We have a vintage day coming up, because our friend David noticed the potential in our car park. Someone we know collects vintage tractors and cars, so that was the starting point and we wanted to keep on the tradition of the old steam fair that was run each year in Belper.”
On offer are market stalls selling vintage clothes and woollen creations from a lady that joins the pub’s Knit and Natter group every Thursday. Based around the era of make-do-and-mend, a time where people would make a cardigan themselves, or repair an older one, Cheryl says that this year’s event is a softly softly approach to test the local appetite. “We’re charging stall holders £10 which we’ll donate to charity, we don’t do it for financial gain but if you’ve got an extra 50 people here, they’re going to buy cups of teas, pints, lunches, you kind of make it back that way.
“We’ll be offering afternoon teas, scones, and we’re running a vintage menu in the kitchen too, corn beef hash, there’s talk of spam fritters to really get into the spirit.”
As well as injecting a camaraderie and fun into the village, Cheryl and Paul also work to make things a bit easier for visitors. “There’s no shop in the village so we set one up, we’ve called it The Essential Shop. We have a great connection with the local caravan park too, they often recommend us as a lunch or dinner spot, so we thought, ‘What would we forget to pack on holiday?’. We’ve tried to think of everything!” Not stopping at holidaymakers though, Cheryl says people often stop by for a pint and pick up some tea bags on the way home too. But it’s not just ale and tea on the menu at The Spanker (which operates to a split of 30-35% food and 65-70% wet), Cheryl has thought of some savvy ways to add to profit margins while ensuring everyone is catered for.
“When we first opened, there was no food in the pub at all, we offered a very small selection and slowly built it up from discussions with our Area Manager.
“Our charcuterie and cheese boards are a new, upmarket, addition because we noticed that groups often came in and ordered a few picky starters to share. We sell the boards for £14.95 so that’s a GP of 65%.”
Catering for older and younger generations resulted in The Spanker’s “smaller plates” menu which sees smaller portions of the more filling main courses. “We wanted to cater for older children who perhaps want to feel a bit more grown up, or an older person who fancies a hot meal for their lunch.” Adding more options to the menu without having to carry a wider range of stock, the larger plates are priced at between £9.95 (for a larger plate of ham, egg and chips) to £10.25 (for scampi) and £5.95 for the smaller plates. Leaving customers with more room for pudding was a happy coincidence, and Cheryl is often to be found in the kitchen rustling up dessert while Paul’s interests lie in all things bar and cellar (having recently been awarded his Cask Marque plaque!)
With hopes to turn a period of recovery into thriving business, Cheryl says that she’s turning her sights onto the people still too nervous to set out from self-isolation. “We need to let the ground settle for a bit, but we want to support the older people in feeling confident again. We’re setting up the luncheon club again that offers two courses for under a tenner, and planning a re-entry Afternoon Tea, a chance for people to bring their friends once a month and know that we’re still offering Covid mitigations to keep them safe.”
It’s no wonder the local community are overjoyed at the attention The Spanker is receiving, this pub turned shop, turned cafe, is lucky to have Cheryl and Paul at the helm – they’re looking after their customers in every way they can. And as one Derbyshire newspaper noted “they’re doing a smashing job.”
Cheryl’s top tips for community-minded recovery:
- “Because we’re the only pub in the village, it has been about getting involved in the community, developing contacts in the community to work with the community. People are so grateful that their pub is open again, I think this could be the resurgence of the Great British pub it’s just finding the right way to do it for your locals.
- “You’ve really got to offer people the best service you can give them, because so many pubs are shut and aren’t going to reopen. We need people to use them, but in encouraging that you need to give them the best quality, make it a good experience, so that they come back and use you rather than lose you.
- “If you’re in a position like we’re in where you are the only pub in the village, you have to get involved with things, you can’t just open your doors and expect people to come in.”
