David and Lynne Burgoyne first came to the attention of the BII team when Lisa from our membership team, visited while on Summer staycation. “We were blown away by the attention to detail at The Shakespeare Inn”, she said, prompting Eleanor Kirby to discover more.
Describing The Shakespeare Inn to the team, the BII’s Lisa Rayment was awestruck by how David and his wife Lynne created a safe and calming atmosphere. Situated in Kendal, the gateway to the picturesque Lake District, and offering five guest bedrooms, David (a one-time bridal and evening wear advisor) and Lynne (a Legal Secretary) first came across the pub in 2015 and, having taken it over, have gone on to build up an eclectic mix of regular trade and visitors.
“Our social media reviews really help us bring first-time visitors in, our current TripAdvisor score is about 4.5 and Facebook is 4.9,” said David.
Reducing capacity from 60 to 30 heads per sitting – devoting upstairs to dining, with drinks ownstairs – as part of their social distancing strategy, David and Lynne saw an opportunity to go further in order to set themselves apart from the competition, as they prepared for reopening in July 2020.
“We added screens, did a risk assessment and introduced measures that saw customers greeted at the door. It all created a really good ‘flow’ around the pub and that’s why customers kept coming back.”
Using red rope and a red carpet to guide visitors from the entrance, along the one-way system, added a bit of glamour to the proceedings, which included checking guests’ temperatures at the door. “We have managed to have a little fun with this, as it’s another opportunity for customer interaction and to put people at their ease. Sometimes I mix in a ‘hands up’ to lighten up the situation,” David laughs.
All these changes have also meant that, when the rule of six came in, there wasn’t a need to chop and change anything. “We just had to create more tables of six,” he explains.
Pre-lockdown, the sales split at The Shakespeare was 70% wet and 30% dry, but with the introduction of new dishes to the menu and events, food sales have grown by 20%, by comparison to autumn 2019.
“We’re now operating at 50/50 wet and dry, but it has involved an awful lot of hard work. We have made people feel safe and comfortable, reduced our menu, and added a more distinctive vegetarian and vegan offer.
“At the moment, we’ve dived deep into what we call ‘Two’s Company’, which is a selection of starters, more nibbly things. Customers can choose any three starters from a choice of 18 and then have a main. It has resulted in people staying for longer and spending more, because they feel comfortable and like the informality of adding another plate to the table.”
Themed evenings are also a great success, with events like “Fish and Fizz”, “Sunday Lunch Club” and “Wine O’Clock”, it’s no wonder they have managed to maintain the trading levels seen during August’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme. “Food sales have increased so much that there has been little or no waste, which is a lovely position to be in,” says David.
Creating a bit of theatre around the menu too has created a ‘celebratory feel’, which is appreciated by customers, especially as their re-emerged after the lockdowns.
“If customers come in at 5.30pm and we don’t have a second sitting on that table, we encourage them to stay and order another round of drinks, which sees the average spend per head rise to £25-30, whereas before it would have been around £15.”
With such creative, yet streamlined, menus, David and Lynne are keen to protect The Shakespeare’s reputation for fresh food, even with the threat of price hikes coming into place this month (January). “I firmly believe fresh is best but I recognise too that we have to adapt the business if changes make that necessary,” he says.
“We spend the most with local suppliers, who we have a good relationship with, and often get them to price match deals we’ve found elsewhere. Having loyalty reciprocated allows us to protect our business.” David and Lynne also work proactively with the team, to encourage the sharing of new ideas.
He explains: “We arrange a staff meeting when the tips jar is full, which gets everyone together, and we do a Q&A session to encourage their ideas. They get their tips at the end of it and it sees everyone being actively involved in the business.”
With much uncertainty around the build-up to Christmas and the opportunity to host groups of 20-30 people having “gone out of the window”, the couple feel secure in the knowledge that the increased food trade has provided stability.
“We used to have a members club called ‘Friends of the Shakey’, which discounted the price with each drink ordered. But we’ve had to suspend it for now. Customers have been very understanding and, if anything, because we’ve ramped up the food, people don’t come in for the discounted pint, but would rather eat and invest in us.”
With customer testimonials from key workers describing the pub as ‘one of the venues they feel safest visiting’, David concludes: “It’s very rewarding and tells us the measures we’ve implemented are what people are want and are expecting to see from the industry.”
