FAMILY FORTUNES

FAMILIES FLOCKING TO FAVOURED PUBS

FAMILIES HAVE NEVER BEEN BETTER CATERED FOR. SMART OPERATORS REVEAL TO CRAIG HAWTIN-BUTCHER HOW THEY’RE REVOLUTIONISING MENUS AND SPACES TO MAKE THE MOST OF THE OPPORTUNITY.

“Of course, hospitality is all about being hospitable,” says Regan Porteous, Parlour Group’s Executive Chef, when Australian Hotelier asks him how the group is catering for the increased demand from families. “We encourage families and have menus available for all ages,” he says.

The Parlour Group aren’t alone in catering for this key customer segment. With competition for customers as intense as it’s ever been, and profit margins being squeezed, venues are increasingly keen to attract any and all demographics, and families are a key one.

Beer garden and play area at Toormina Hotel

“We’re definitely focused on families, 100%,” says Deniz Coskun, Executive Chef for the Queensland-based Mantle Group Hospitality. “A lot of our venues are in the CBD, though a few are outside. You do find those [outside the CBD] are more family friendly.

“At the end of the day, families want to go out for dinner or lunch. They want to have fun, catch up with other families. I’m a dad myself – I want to catch up with my friends. We tend to do lunches now instead of dinners. We still want to have good food, be able to be more relaxed and bring the kids, go to our local. For those suburban pubs, having that good quality food offer will attract that,” says Coskun.

Pubs are responding precisely to the demand Coskun descibes. Venues know that kids don’t eat alone, so that loss-leading promotions including ‘kids eat free’ headline sales guarantee adults will likely order from the menu also. Family groups are also attractive to operators keen to attract daytime crowds and to develop return business from local regulars.

Lincoln Baker, GM at The Australian Heritage Hotel in Sydney’s The Rocks precinct recognises the value of family groups, saying:

“Service during the day is important. During the week it’s mostly travelling families and on Sundays we attract young families out for a meal and a drink.”

The Tudor Hotel, Redfern

ATTRACTIVE PRICING

Baker looks to attract families with a daily $10 children’s menu, along with children’s crayons and sketch books to keep them occupied. More prosaically, The Australian Heritage Hotel caters for the practical requirements of young families, offering separate baby-changing facilities and high-chairs. Many venues now offer similar facilities, which are increasingly the norm rather than the exception.

Baker also has one eye on the long-term future for the venue, saying “That Aussie pub experience has now become a part of our culture and being a family friendly venue will ensure that culture continues onto the next generation.” Mantle’s Coskun says, “Our approach [to families] is pretty similar, it’s still quality food, but having the dining rooms flexible to have children there, having separate dining areas and kids menus. Our approach has always been good quality, reasonably priced. For kids [pricing is] by age – it could be $5-$10.”

“At the end of the day, families want to go out for dinner or lunch. They want to have fun, catch up with other families.” – Deniz Coskun, Mantle

HEALTH-CONSCIOUS

In regional NSW, Carl Mower, GM at the Toormina Hotel is very proud of the family atmosphere and dining experience his team have created there, and believes pricing isn’t the only consideration for patrons, with health and quality both key attractions.

“We have proven that price is often outweighed by quality,” says Mower. “Parents are looking for healthy options for their children and not just what would be considered ‘easy fried’ food.”

The health factor is something that’s definitely front of mind for Solotel’s Group Executive Chef Sebastian Lutaud, who says, “Pretty much every venue has a kids menu. We’ve gone in and done some health-conscious menus for the kids – there’s always one [option] that’s more health-conscious. Kids just want fried items and chips, we know that, but we want to make sure there’s a healthier option.”

Australian Venue Co’s Menzies says “Our CEO and COO both have kids. They eat and drink out a lot and they don’t always want to give their kids chicken nuggets. Making sure you’ve got a healthy option, [it’s important to offer] a little bit more rounded food offer for kids, not just a cheeseburger, nuggets and chips.”

A Solotel spokesperson says they’re also looking at “shifts in menus, spaces and service times to accommodate families rather than just straight-up drinkers – we are introducing kids (and dog) menus at The Bank, Newtown and The Clock, Surry Hills.

“We are going to ensure that kids menus include vegan options as a groupwide focus to being inclusive for all – dietary requirements is a big thing for us. We have Easter activations at The Sackville Hotel [in Rozelle, NSW], with a petting zoo and face painting.”

The Buena, Mosman

SAFE SPACES

Back at The Tudor Hotel, they’re also looking beyond pricing, menus and facilities to offer suitable spaces for family patrons. They reserve spaces for families “so the kids can run around and more importantly the adults can relax and enjoy their time,” says Jones.

Over at Merivale, Jordan Toft, Executive Chef of Coogee Pavilion, The Newport and The Collaroy describes how entire venues have been reworked for the family segment:

“Those venues like Coogee Pavilion and The Newport have been conceptualised with families in mind,” says Toft. “Creating multi-use spaces, choices where parents and kids can enjoy a different offering yet enjoy in the one space [all] create a family atmosphere. As a parent, if your kid loves to go somewhere and you too enjoy it, it’s a win-win!” says Toft.

“Our CEO and COO both have kids. They eat and drink out a lot and they don’t always want to give their kids chicken nuggets.” – Telina Menzies, Australian Venue Co

Telina Menzies, Executive Chef at Australian Venue Co says “A lot of our demographic in our target markets, it is people with young families, so you need to just embrace that and be able to create a safe space where people feel like they can sit for an afternoon and their kids are occupied and they’ve got a good food offer.”

For venues grasping the family market with health-conscious menus for kids, grown-up dishes for parents, all served in the right spaces with activities on hand to keep the kids busy, the rewards are plain to see.