Tank manoeuvres

13 November 2001 by
Tank manoeuvres

During a two-week closure, the septic tank and the car park have caused more trouble for the managers at the Appletree Inn. Sara Guild reports.

Life at the Appletree Country Inn in Marton, North Yorkshire, has been anything but quiet. Co-managers Melanie Thornton and her partner, chef TJ Drew, decided to close for two weeks over the end of September into early October for a much-needed holiday, yet they knew the time would be spent doing anything but resting. All four of the pub's toilets needed redecorating and the pair had resolved to do it themselves to cut down on costs. Meanwhile, the septic tank under the car park was crumbling and in urgent need of replacement, while the car park itself needed resurfacing.

The builders replacing the septic tank first called to say that they would be a week late. Then they dug through the gas pipe two days before the pub reopened, preventing Drew from starting his food preparation. The next day, gas pipe fixed, they dug through the water pipe, leaving the pub with no water for the remainder of the day. And while putting the electrical connections through to the septic tank, they fused all the lights in the kitchen. "We can look back and laugh now, but it wasn't funny then and TJ was not at all happy," says Thornton.

The pair did redecorate both of the ladies' toilets but ran out of time to do the gents', so they will have to wait till the next holiday.

On a more positive front, Drew gave sous chef Iain McGrain, the resident computer whizz, special leave to finish the pub's Web site. It may have left Drew short of a pair of hands, but the site is up and running and the owner of the Appletree Inn, Orchard Inns, is pleased with the result.

Out front, however, Thornton has lost a part-time member of her bar staff and is advertising for a replacement. She estimates that an average of £100 a week has been spent on this for the past six weeks, in attempts to find a full-time waitress and a part-timer as well. On the first busy night she had to cope on her own, she ended up asking a regular to come behind the bar and dry the glasses as she was running out of clean ones. "I paid him in pints, which seemed to suit him fine," she says. "But I do need proper staff."

During their break, the pair had a rethink about how they would display the produce they are keen on selling, such as home-made bread, jams, chutneys, relishes, flavoured oils and chocolates. "We'd hoped to set up a shop in the pub's entrance," says Thornton, "but there's too much traffic there. Ideally, we'd like to use one of our cottages, but they're needed as staff accommodation."

The pair will concentrate for now on marketing the produce, doing hampers in time for Christmas, and encouraging customers to take a look at the display on the bar. At the moment, prices range from £2 to £5 for the jams and relishes, and Thornton estimates that she sells a dozen a week.

September would have been a good month financially had the pub not closed for the last week. Total sales of £12,266 still don't quite meet the pair's overhead costs of about £14,000 a month. The overheads are high because the previous managers signed the pub to several contracts that are still binding. For example, the bathroom hand-dryers, soaps and air fresheners and the pub's computerised till cost £750 a month. Thornton estimates that, when the contracts finish, in six months, she will save £3,000 a month. In the meantime, the pair will have to concentrate on keeping things on budget and developing further revenue possibilities.

The story so far

Melanie Thornton and chef TJ Drew have taken on the management of the Appletree Country Inn in Marton, North Yorkshire. The pair hope to be into a position to lease the pub from owner Orchard Inns within a year.

AppletreeCountry Inn

Marton, North Yorkshire
Tel: 01751 431457www.appletreeinn.co.uk

Managers: Melanie Thornton and TJ Drew
Seats: 40
Financial performance: for September (three weeks)/October (two weeks only)
Food sales: £8,702/£4,095
Wet sales: £3,564/£1,871
Total sales: £12,266/£5,966
Wages: £4,726/£2,919
Average spend: £21.50/£21.50
Covers: 662/322

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