As vaccination centres, farm shops and fashion outlets, pubs get creative in their fight to survive

When thousands of pubs up and down the country were first forced to close due to the pandemic, in March last year, many publicans decided to turn their boozers into takeaways, drive-throughs or even bakeries (while cooking free meals for key workers or the homeless). This kept staff in work, provided the businesses some income, and offered a vital community service. Few could have imagined that, 10 months on, they would be in the same position.

Such is the gravity of the current situation, with pubs closed once more and this time not even allowed to sell takeaway beer, that even more of them are diversifying. From opening farm shops to selling clothes, publicans are doing all they can to stay afloat.

This time, the main charitable endeavour is the offer of unused space as vaccination centres. From chains such as BrewDog to small country pubs – 80 per cent of which support the idea of being converted into vaccination centres, according to a survey – many are on board, and vaccines could soon be taking place in their thousands in pubs up and down Britain.

“It looks increasingly like the vaccine is going to be the swiftest way back to some sort of normality,” says Kate Nicholls, CEO of UKHospitality. “If we want to go back to a fully open hospitality sector operating without crippling restrictions, that has got to be our best bet.”

Nicholls is supporting pubs in their bid to become vaccination centres. “We are ready to assist if the Government needs us," she says. "We have safe, spacious, well-ventilated venues the length and breadth of the country that could be used as bases for vaccination, should they be needed.

“There is a huge amount of infrastructure, in terms of refrigeration, logistics and supply chains, already in place that could be put to good use. We are keen to play our part in helping the country get through the crisis and eager to repay the support that the Government has already given us.”

Whether they operate as vaccination centres, farm shops or even clothes boutiques, this country's pubs remain as vital as ever – as these shining examples prove.

Taproom vaccination centres

Like many in the industry, the Hogs Back Brewery in Farnham, Surrey, has offered up its facilities, including the Hop Hangar taproom, as a drive-through Covid-19 vaccination centre. While the government had previously ruled out such offers, it appears it is now considering them.

“We’re offering the Hop Hangar as our contribution to the vaccination roll-out, and we’ll work with the Local Resilience Forum to ensure we can meet its requirements,” says the brewery's managing director, Rupert Thompson. The forum is currently considering the offer.

“Our brewery is in a location well served by main roads, and it would be very effective as a drive-through facility,” Thompson stresses. “We think people might not even need to get out of their cars to be injected, although that’s for the organisers to decide, and it can all be done under cover.”

Thompson highlights that the brewery has fridges for vaccines and plenty of rooms for medical and support staff. “We can even offer those who’ve been vaccinated a cup of tea afterwards, and for the staff manning the site, we’ll also provide a free bottle of our very own TEA – our flagship traditional English ale – for them to enjoy once they’re off duty.”

Many other breweries are likely to follow. “We’re keen to play our part and support our friends and neighbours,” says Thompson.

Hogs Back Brewery, Manor Farm, The Street, Tongham, Farnham, Surrey GU10 1DE; hogsback.co.uk

Full-time grocery shops

The Prince Arthur in East London spent much of the pandemic operating as a takeaway, offering a few pantry items as well as its pints. However, the current lockdown restrictions, which prohibit the sale of takeaway alcohol, have forced the pub to pivot once more, this time operating as a full-time grocery shop. “We had no option but to try and offer our customers an alternative, to keep their custom,” say Emma Piggott and Jonathan Mercer of the Tiny Dancer Group, which runs the pub.

A key reason for opening as a shop last Friday was to keep their suppliers in business. An often underlooked aspect of closing hospitality is that thousands of businesses rely on pubs, restaurants and cafés – without income, these could go bust, too.

“We offer a safer alternative to shopping at larger supermarkets. The pub is spacious and the layout means that social distancing can be practised at all times. We only allow three people in the shop at once and there is consistent cleaning of high-touch areas.” Piggott and Mercer also emphasise that keeping the pub open, albeit as a shop, provides a community service – often, interaction with staff is the only human contact a customer might have.

Aside from the shop, the Tiny Dancer Group is helping feed local school children in what is one of Britain’s most unequal areas and taking donations of laptops and tablets at The Prince Arthur and its sister pub, The Plough in Homerton.

“We will be operating as a general store for as long as we are able to, hopefully until we are allowed to reopen again,” say Piggott and Mercer. “Going forward, we will look to keep a condensed version of the general stores in the pubs to support our suppliers and customers.”

The Prince Arthur, 95 Forest Road, Hackney, London E8 3BH; theprincearthure8.com

Offering a fashion fix

Countless pubs have transformed into shops over the past year, but mostly these have been solely centred on produce. This is true of The Bell Inn in the Cotswolds. “We had to do something to keep us going and we thought it would be a great way to support our local community,” says co-owner Peter Creed. “There isn’t another shop for five miles.”

However, and unusually, the pub has recently turned into a clothes shop, teaming up with local business Benedict & Hott to sell linen shirts and lambswool gilets alongside ready meals, meat and cheese. A customer might pop in for groceries and leave with a tweed jacket.

“We wanted to help the local community in any way we could, and with Benedict and Hott being a local and independent company we offered them some space in the pub,” Creed explains. “Adding clothes also offers our customers something different when they come to us. We are known for doing things a bit differently so we thought, why should we stop now?”

Creed says the pub is planning to function in this manner until April, “but we will carry on with the shop for as long as we have to. It keeps us busy and provides a much-needed service to our village.”

The Bell Inn, Langford, Nr. Burford GL7 3LF; thebelllangford.com

Making meals at home

The Cricketers on the Green in Pirbright and The Kings Arms (which only opened for the first time in December) are both run by Grosvenor Pubs & Inns, which in December launched Grosvenor at Home boxes. It had spent 2020 in limbo between opening and closing, but decided to launch finish-at-home meal boxes for Christmas. An immediate hit, they are now running boxes for upcoming events, such as Burns Night or Valentine’s Day.

“The boxes were born out of a need to diversify into retail and a desire to continue to provide local ingredients to our guests,” says Gemma Hampton-Stone, group business MD for Grosvenor Pubs & Inns. The festive gift boxes helped provide a steady revenue and create opportunities for paid work. “We source locally, and therefore the gift boxes and meal kits enable us to bring a little part of the pub and the community into our customers’ homes,” says Hampton-Stone.

Last week, the group went one step further by converting the Yurt Cafe at the Cricketers into a farm shop, open seven days a week. “It’s early days, however it’s been received very well with an expansion on the ‘grab & go’ options, household essentials and pantry range,” Hampton-Stone explains.

“If we’ve learnt anything, it’s that consistency is key. We will not stop offering any of the services we’ve launched during the lockdown to the community, even when the pub reopens. We will stand by the community by providing this essential offer no matter what.”

The Cricketers on the Green, The Green, Pirbright, Surrey GU24 0JT; The Kings Arms, 5-6 High St, Egham TW20 9EA; grosvenorpubs.com

Is your local pub doing something that should be celebrated? Let us know in the comments section below