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."
Paramount Investments are London based commercial property agents and valuers, acting on behalf of property companies along with UK breweries,pub companies, pub chains, pub landlords and publicans.
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