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By Matt Furnell, 22/03/2010 5:52 pm

Evelyn with Mike O'Connor from Greene King

Evelyn Miles leaves the Castle pub in Sevenoaks this week after appearing for 35 years behind the bar.  Greene King who owns the pub gave the loyal landlady a fond farewell.

Mike O’Connor, regional manager for Greene King said, “Whilst Evelyn has been behind the bar she’s served over 1,260,000 pints of beer and today she’ll pour her final one.  We thought it was about time she saw where all that beer comes from so we’ve invited her to a VIP brewery tour to start off her new life.  We wish her a long and happy retirement and hope that the memories she has of being such a great landlady stay with her for years to come”.

When Evelyn started behind the bar a pint of beer was around 27p with pub food being a packet of pork scratchings or a pickled egg.  Speaking about her time at the Castle, Evelyn said, “I’ve seen the pub business change over the years but one thing that’s remained the same is that customers want to feel welcome in a pub and they come to make friends.  Here at the Castle, I’ve made sure everyone who comes through the door feels special and that’s been the best bit about running the pub for all this time”.

Eveylyn pulling her very last pint

Evelyn intends to put her feet up for a well earned rest now and is looking forward to being the other side of the bar for many years to come.

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Pictured: Evelyn with Mike O’Connor from Greene King with her last pint when her firstcost 27p 

Eveylyn pulling her very last pint

Press Contact: Elaine Beckett, Public Relations Manager, Greene King Pub Partners, Tel: 07974 132844

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By Matt Furnell, 18/11/2009 2:32 pm

Selected for their successfully run businesses, Greene King female licensees were invited to be part of Global Entrepreneurship Week, the world-wide movement to highlight the crucial role that entrepreneurs and their ideas play in driving economic recovery and success in the UK and globally.

The all-female event, “Women mean Business 2009″ will take centre stage at Hanbury Manor, Ware on Thursday 19^th November. Guests will have the opportunity to network with fellow innovators and enjoy a fabulous day of inspirational development.

Speaking about the event, Caroline Hollings, director of recruitment and training for Greene King said, “This is a great way to bring like minded business women together to encourage new ideas and innovative ways to further build their pub businesses.  All too often the contribution women make to pub businesses is overlooked and this event will help recognise what value they do add as well as provide even more inspiration to them for the future – it’s all about making entrepreneurs even more entrepreneurial”.

Greene King, leaders in female enterprise with their successful Public Housewives campaign, tailored the event to their licensees, recognising the unique qualities women bring to their pubs.

FOR FURTHER DETAILS PLEASE CONTACT: ELAINE BECKETT, GREENE KING, 07974 132844

www.publichousewives.co.uk

View BBC Look East coverage here

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By Matt Furnell, 06/10/2009 3:03 pm

Lyn Walker and Yvonne Mallinson have become the latest “Public Housewives” to take on a pub with Greene King, the Star in Rolvenden near Cranbrook.  The duo who run their own catering business and local café, the Bread o f Life in Dulwich, London SE22 decided to take over the pub and transform it with their skills and a woman’s touch.

 Speaking about their new venture, Lyn said, “We’d visited the pub when it was thriving and then not, so that’s why we decided we could take the leap into the pub sector and put this real pub for real people back on the map.  Through Greene King’s support we’ve been able to transform the business and create somewhere really special for the locals”.

 The Public Housewives campaign launched by Greene King is aimed at encouraging more women to take the plunge and run pubs as their own businesses.  Caroline Hollings, recruitment and training director for Greene King says, “The impression people get when thinking about running a pub is that there has to be a man behind the bar and nothing could be further from the truth.  We have some really successful women running our pubs of which Lyn and Yvonne are definitely two.  We need to change the perception and get more women who are business minded and great managers looking to this industry as a self employed business option”.

 Lyn and Yvonne have revamped the pub with a new paint job and signage and replanted the gardens, welcomed back the darts and football teams and introduced a good home cooked pub food menu alongside an ever popular Sunday Roast.

 Adding Yvonne said, “You have to have dedication and work hard if you take on a pub but seeing a happy face on the other side of the bar and knowing you are providing something the community wants makes it all worth while”.

 Even Lyn’s husband, Mick, is happy even though it has taken some getting used to, he says, “I must be the only man who goes out to work all day whilst my wife’s down the pub!”.

 More information about the Public Housewives campaign can be found on http://www.publichousewives.co.uk/.

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By admin, 30/09/2009 4:23 pm

I read recently that there’s a new breed of women set to turn us on our tails. SWAGS — Sassy, Wise and Grown Up — representing the 35 to 45 age, really settled and happy in their lifestyle and, as such, knowing exactly what they want.

So to the best bit of consumer research I’d ever asked to be undertaken.  Greene King Pub Partners PR Manager, my PA, our Recruitment and Training Manager and many more of Greene King’s own SWAGS were only too eager to give some honest feedback on what they were looking for.

Large elegant wine glasses and good wine at a reasonable price topped the asks, along with clean toilets with toilet paper!  Unsurprisingly light flavoursome salads were orders of the day along with calorific chocolate covered desserts – two extremes for the SWAGS.  Good coffee was an absolute necessity and why couldn’t they have the weekly glossy magazines as well as the daily papers on offer to read in pubs?

From this very informal research I wonder if our industry is meeting the needs of these women.  Maybe, as according to the research they were the most content of their sex and don’t need more but in all honesty – are we missing a trick?  So the team at Greene King underwent a small experiment, could a pub visit make these ladies even happier with their lot?

Greene King’s own SWAGS got the chance to see, along with their friends who weren’t in on the bit of research.  A visit to one of our very own pub sites near Bury St Edmunds, each SWAG was asked when ordering:

Did they want their drink served in a larger than life glass or a standard wine glass – 100% said yes to the larger glass.

When ordering wine, all wines were shown as the same price and all the women ordered by taste and grape choosing one of the more expensive – these women know their wine and what they like, so quality appears to be key.

 How many picked up the glossy magazines innocently strewn around – every party had a look and the subsequent conversation flowed within the groups.

 And after their visit to the ladies which had the added luxuries solely required by the female market e.g. perfume, hand cream and tissues as well as toilet roll!  Every party commented on the extras and standards!

So in conclusion, our own research showed pubs can make SWAGS even happier than they already appear to be.  Some simple added elements to a pub’s offer and you’ve got SWAGS as key customers.

This also applies in the SWAGS running Greene King pubs, whether they’re part of a couple or as single operators, women know what women want and their influence on the business shows.  So we not only want more SWAGS as customers we want more SWAGS behind the bar.  Come on ladies…

Article by David Elliott  Managing Director of Greene King Pub Partners

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By Elaine Beckett, 25/09/2009 11:20 am

That’s one of Greene King’s Public Housewives view, Angela Poulton who took on the tenancy of the Tollgate pub in Bury St Edmunds, her very own business in November last year and has changed it beyond recognition.

Greene King’s Public Housewives campaign focuses on trying to attract more business minded women into the sector and Angela is just one whose taken the opportunity and made a real go of the challenge.

At 28, Angela joined the pub trade at 18 and has now realised her dream of running her own pub.  She says of her career choice, “I love working with people so taking on my own pub business was very exciting, continuing to do something I love.  It’s hard work and I’ve made a lot of improvements at the pub but it’s worth while as its your own business and your own decisions”.

Adding she said, “I think more women should consider a pub as a self employed business.  They have a woman’s touch making a place more homely and we know that in the main we’re hard workers, organised and able to multi task, real qualities for running a pub”.

Angela has focused her attention on building the Tollgate as a quality community pub, concentrating on the food side of the business as well as holding successful charity events on bank holidays and small music festivals and, improving the garden facilities.

Regional manager for Greene King, Steve Look said, “Angela is a great landlady and an asset to the pub.  We need to change the perception that pubs are run by men and attract more women like Angela to consider a pub as a career.  The benefits are endless as Angela and our Public Housewives will confirm”.

Greene King owns and operates 1400 pubs across England and currently has only 13% of those pubs ran by independent women.  The campaign seeks to change that and the launch of a website dedicated to draw more women into the business is helping to achieve just that, http://www.publichousewives.co.uk/

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Press Contact: Elaine Beckett, Public Relations Manager, Greene King Pub Partners, Tel: 07974 132844

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By Matt Furnell,

Landlady, Debi Sicklemore is celebrating running pubs for 25 years and says it’s the ideal career for women. Debi, who runs the Greene King pub the Grafton Arms in Euston, London is one of the new women behind the company’s Public Housewives campaign which aims to get more women not just behind the bar but running it.

Having run a pub since she was 23, Debi now 49 believes the mix of a women’s touch and the ability to multi-task makes women worthy candidates to run pubs. Speaking about her career, Debi says, “You have to be determined and earn the respect of your customers but the rewards are endless. I’ve been in the business for 25 years, being my own boss and reaping all the benefits that gives along the way”.

Greene King is targeting women to take on more of their pubs after identifying only 13% of their pub estate is run by independent women. Speaking about the campaign, director of recruitment and training Caroline Hollings said, “The impression people get when thinking about running a pub is that there has to be a man behind the bar and nothing could be further from the truth. We have some really successful women running our pubs of which Debi is definitely one. We need to change the perception and get more women who are business minded and great managers looking to this industry as a self employed business option”.

Greene King operates 2500 pubs across England, Scotland and Wales offering leased and tenanted options as well as managed house opportunities. For more information on the Public Housewives campaign go to http://www.publichousewives.co.uk/

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Press Contact: Elaine Beckett, Public Relations Manager, Greene King Pub Partners, Tel: 07974 132844, email: elainebeckett@greeneking.co.uk