How to introduce a food offer in your new pub

Have you thought about food and how you’re going to cater for customers who want a meal in your new pub?

An important part of running a pub is the food offer. While there are some very successful wet-led pubs – pubs that have a very limited food menu or none at all – the vast majority of licensees need to offer food to attract customers to their pub and get a slice of the UK’s £56 billion out-of-home (OOH) foodservice industry.

But how do you roll out a great menu if you haven’t got much experience working in pub kitchens and restaurants? Fortunately you don’t have to be a chef to offer your pub customers great food and service. With the right staff in your kitchen and front of house, and support from Greene King’s Food & Supplies Service, you can open your pub to customers who want something good to eat from day one.

Here’s how it works…

A Ready To Go Food Offer

Depending on the type of pub you’re taking on, whether it offers a value, mainstream or premium pub experience, you can choose a food offer that’s aligned with the pub and your target customers. With a range of different price points you can be sure to offer your customers something that matches their budgets and preferences.

This food offer is also ideal for any licensee who wants to take their pub to the next level, moving from value to mainstream or mainstream to premium. All the work planning menus, calculating portions and margins is done for you.

All products are delivered to your pub with cooking / preparation instructions, crockery, allergen information, and marketing materials (including menus and personalised POS materials); food waste and recyclables are taken away by our logistics partner at no cost to the pub operator. Licensees can also access additional support such as training and marketing to help them maximise the food opportunity in their pub.

Creating Something Different In Your Pub

If you don’t want to go for the full service option, you don’t have to! Many pub operators pick and mix the dishes they want, so they can offer customers a more bespoke menu. You could choose some of our dishes for your day-to-day food offer and develop your own specials board, for example. Or you might want to choose our vegetarian or vegan options to supplement your own menus.

One of our pub partners, Chris Windle who operates several food pubs in Yorkshire, has been doing exactly that. He says, “We use the ‘Create Your Own’ option, choosing dishes from Greene King’s huge range throughout their managed estate. Using what we want suits us because the Droppingwell [one of Chris’ pubs] has a reputation for providing something a little different. However, I’m just about to take on a new tenancy and we’ll be using the full service from day one to give us a flying start. We’re taking the pub from Greene King’s managed division which means the full service will fit perfectly.”

Alternatively, some licensees prefer to use our wholesale supply option, benefiting from our greater purchasing power and therefore improving the margins on the food they offer.

Staff Training

Another advantage of our Food & Supplies Service is that training is available to ensure your staff can execute the menus to the highest standards. This means that you don’t have to employ experienced kitchen staff or a head chef to deliver a great food offer in your pub. For many new pub licensees this can be really helpful during the first few months of running a pub, ensuring that the food service runs smoothly while they develop their ideas for the pub and potentially their own bespoke food offer at a later date.

Chris Windle says, “I’m looking forward to taking on my new pub. Going full service will mean that my team is trained and ready to start right away – I think that would be really handy for anybody just moving in to a new pub or reopening after refurbishment.”

If you decide to develop your menus further, Greene King offer support in the form of additional training courses and an apprenticeship programme. You can train your staff to do more in the kitchen, developing their skills so that you can offer more specials or signatures dishes and still get the great margins you need on food by purchasing ingredients wholesale.

How To Get Started

There are 3 ways to use Greene King’s Food & Supplies Service, speak to your BDM to set up an account and explore the best option for your pub. Here’s a summary of how it works:

#1: Full Service and Support

• Choose Value or Mainstream menus (Premium menu also available to some pubs)
• Free dish specification cards
• Free allergen information pack
• Free point of sale for 5 separate occasions throughout the year
• Free delivery and recyclable waste pick up
• Crockery pack plus 2 days’ onsite training

#2: Create Your Own

• Choose from Greene King’s huge range of dishes available through or managed pubs
• Free dish specification information
• Free allergen information
• Free recyclable waste pick up
• Point of sale available on GoCreate!

#3: Supply only

• Buy the items you need individually from Greene King as and when you need them
• Providing you order regularly and that your order value is sufficient, they’ll pick up your recyclable waste free

Extra Saving

• All pubs on the Food & Supplies Service can buy crisps and snacks from us at discounted rates!
• Plus, make use of Greene King’s buying power to purchase goods not for resale – cleaning products, stationery, supplies and sundries for running your business.

For more information and a full price list contact the Pub Partners Team by emailing PubPartnersFood@GreeneKing.co.uk or speak to your Business Development Manager.