Hospitality

RAISE YOUR GLASSES TO RONNIE AND MAT AT THE ALMA!

Imagine you take over the pub you have been a regular in for 13 years. Trade is going well and you have made giant steps in improving the business – and then Covid strikes. You are forced to close the doors for an indefinite period and business grinds to a halt.

This is exactly what happened to Ronnie & Mat who run the Alma, the free house in Sidcup.

The couple took over the pub in 2018 after having initially said over a few drinks that if the pub ever became available, they would buy it. It did come up for sale and they were as good as their word.

Both Ronnie and Mat have a wealth of experience in the hospitality sector; the latter with bars and restaurants; and the former with nightclubs. It is fair to say that they went into the venture with their eyes wide open and a year after taking over things were looking good. The pub which had been quite maleorientated was far more inclusive and was attracting a wider audience.

But as Mat explains watching the news in March 2020 as Covid cases soared and being told ‘you are closing from tonight’ was a huge blow. “We’d just had a big (beer) delivery the day before and then we are told you have to close. Beer has a shelf life and we had to dispose of it as the lockdown carried on”.

He adds: “It was a tough time, especially as we are a free house and not owned by a big brewery or corporation – it is just us on our own”.

As Ronnie explains the Alma went from a business that was doing exceptionally well and with no debt; to a pub that, with an exception of a two month rent free period, had to take out a Bounce Back Loan in order to survive. The business also had to make PAYE and NI contributions for staff that were furloughed.

Despite the financial challenges, Ronnie insists at no time did they think of packing it in.

And they are grateful from the support from locals and the community in general. Remote quizzes during lockdown helped lift spirits and kept them in touch with regulars; while Sidcup Partners helped Ronnie and Mat apply for grants.

“The lengthy documents we were sent to apply for support grants were like War & Peace. A massive thanks goes to Cheryl Curr and Sue Petty at Sidcup BID, they were really helpful in looking into and chasing grants for us,” Ronnie explains. That said, the way in which the grants were apportioned to some businesses was not fair leaving some venues way more out of pocket than others.

Life after lockdown

Lockdown did allow Ronnie and Mat time to completely redesign and replant the pub garden – and the stunning results can be seen on the pub’s website, facebook and Instagram. A bit of redecorating was also carried out when the pub doors were closed so the place was in tip-top shape when the place finally re-opened without restrictions.

So how is business now? “Things are a lot better”, says Mat. “It is great to be open again but we are not back to 2019 levels yet. I think it is due to people being able to go abroad again without restrictions which is negatively affecting local pubs and bars. I think the rising cost of living is also having an impact, with people going out once a week now rather than three times.”

Fortunately, Ronnie and Mat are masters at encouraging people to come out and mingle in their local.

The Alma is not short on attractions to bring in new regulars – quiz nights, traditional pie & mash from Manzes, curry nights, vinyl DJ nights, live music at the weekend and a recently trialled karaoke, stand as testimony to this. And if there is a national or local celebration in the diary, you can guarantee the bunting will be out in force!

The couple pride themselves on excellent service and building a rapport with customers. They insist that creating a soulful, welcoming environment makes all the difference and will help them not only return to the numbers they saw back in 2019 – but exceed them.

A combination of word-of-mouth recommendations and social media promotions are helping to build the Alma’s burgeoning reputation. “Sidcup BID has been helpful here in sharing details of what is happening at The Alma, the benefit here is that their social media has an audience with a wider age range, so we are appealing to new people,” Mat says.