A Punch Taverns licensee couple in Falkirk are serving as many as 2,000 meals a week after a £350,000 joint investment between the company and themselves.
Gary and Wendy Horne have been running the Coppertop in the town since 2009. The couple has invested around £120,000 in the pub with Punch Taverns making an investment of £230,000. The joint investment has transformed the business into a busy food-led business – it has a 75/25 trading split. The Coppertop is so busy at weekends that it has to turn away as many as 300 to 500 customers.
The food offer is focused on good-value traditional British food such as steak pies and fish and chips, with the average dinner spend of £8 per head.
Among the eye-catching features introduced during the refurbishment, there is a £10,000 five-food long LED screen that looks like a real fire.
Gary Horne, who previously ran a Punch pub a decade ago, said: "Punch is a totally different company to the one I knew a decade ago. It's been brilliant to me in the last couple of years – very supportive. It's given me the opportunity to make decent money here. If I can find another Punch pub that's the right pub in the right location, I'd be delighted to take on another one."
The Coppertop faces fierce local competition in Falkirk, including a nearby Beefeater and a new build restaurant. But Horne says that being customer-focused and offering value is the key. "I think Punch has recognized the potential in a lot of their pubs if they can get the right people to do the job – and I think you have to do food if you want to stick around."
3 Dec 2011
Falkirk pub serving 2,000 meals a week after joint investment - Eat Out Magazine
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