NEWS REVIEW
When Tom Dempsey and Rebecca Middleton were parachuted into a problem pub some time ago they found the once popular food side at the Whyteleafe Tavern, Surrey had been discontinued twelve months earlier.
With offices nearby and passing traffic on the busy A22 Purley to Eastbourne road, a basic menu was cobbled together and lunch time trade slowly picked up.
But with fierce competition from two Indian restaurants, a tapas bar, a Chinese/Vietnamese, a fish and chip shop, a kebab outlet, a sandwich shop and a cafeteria, all within 100 yards, much more then a basic menu was needed.
"We decided to go upmarket with main meals and also offer omelettes, filled jacket potatoes, sandwiches, baguettes and pizzas," said Ms. Middleton.
With a 300 per cent increase in food sales since the introduction of the new menu, they are seeing Kashmiri Lamb Shank, Liver and Onions and (very good) ham, egg and chips as big sellers, with Sausage and Mash the star of them all. The same sausages are also used in a two-of-everything All Day Breakfast.
Speed, convenience and quality led to a decision to select fully cooked gourmet sausages from Snowbird foods. Using these, the Sausage and Mash meal can be with the customer in about three minutes from order.
"I couldn’t imagine microwaving a frozen sausage rather than frying it but samples were provided, we tried them on the customers and everybody said they were great, even though they couldn’t believe they had been microwaved," said Ms. Middleton.
She switched from an established delivered frozen food wholesaler to 3663, the UK’s leading foodservice wholesale distributor, to achieve better quality and a better deal and is well satisfied with the service.
"The new menu is helping us build trade which is important because we have bought a 28 years lease on the Tavern and the oven baked pizzas are a huge hit on football nights," she added.
Last word from fellow licensee, Tom Dempsey, an Irishman who likes his grub and knows where to put it.
"These are the best sausages I have eaten in my life," he said.