Publican - ABLE BC

" ...the personal touch is what truly setsindependents apart from franchiseoperations ..."Sample Advertisement courtesy of Barley Station Brew PubCarbery notes that in the nine years he has owned Christie’s, he’s noticed asignificant change in the ratio of food versus alcohol purchases. It used to be 40%food and 60% beverages. Today it is closer to 50/50. He firmly believes that “If youdon’t have decent food, you are going to be lost.”Beer - and lots of it - is another part of Christie’s competitive edge. “We really are abeer pub,” explains Carbery. “We have 34 varieties of beer on tap, and 10 of theseare brewed right here in Victoria - a city known as a hotbed for microbrews inCanada. About 80% of our beer sales are the microbrews.”Kathy and Stu Bradford of The Barley Station Brew Pub in Salmon Arm, havealso tapped into the microbrew business to gain a competitive edge. Theirmicrobrewery has five house beers on tap. In addition to enjoying a pint (or two)in the pub, patrons can purchase 2-litre “Growlers” - little brown refillable jugs -of the house beers. The Bradfords have also created a unique system to make itpossible (and profitable) to can their award-winning beer, which is a really bigachievement for a small brew pub!Although they are not facing any competition from franchise establishmentsright now, the Bradfords know that day will eventually arrive in their small city. Inorder to promote their pub in their community, they host events such as a “Pintsfor Prostate” fundraiser, with proceeds to a local cancer charity.Danielle (Dani) Tatarin is a bar manager at The Keefer Bar in Vancouver, and isa founding member of the newly formed Canadian Professional BartendersAssociation (CPBA). In addition to getting involved in the community, she stressesthe importance of networking with liquor brand representatives and other bar/pub owners. “Suppliers encourage bartenders to come up with new recipes fortheir product, and you can get great publicity for your pub if you come up witha winning cocktail in a friendly bartender competition,” explains Tatarin. “Neverlose sight of the fact that these competitions are not just about mixing drinks,but also about raising funds and community awareness. Movember, for example,was a huge event.”Last, but not least, all pub operators need to recognize that the days of running aYellow Pages advertisement or popping a few flyers into mailboxes are long gone.If, at the very least, you don’t have a web page, then you don’t stand a chance. Pubgoers today are an Internet-savvy bunch, and their passion for everything Internethas gone well beyond checking out your Special of the Day online. Social mediais the hottest business buzzword, and is something that many nationally brandedpubs/restaurants are using to their advantage. Generate excitement about yourpub by using Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, and other social networking tools.Not ready to take a crash course in Social Media 101? Chances are good thatsomeone currently on your payroll is a social media expert, and could be a greatasset to your business.All owner/operators interviewed by The Publican agreed that the personal touch iswhat truly sets independents apart from franchise operations - not that there isn’ta place in our communities for both. “We treat our patrons like they are cominginto our kitchen at home,” says Bradford. “And it is our home. The people in ourcommunity are not just pub patrons - they are our friends.”12 The Publican