The story so far
Chef Dean Eccles has been in charge of the restaurant at the Wooden Doll pub, near Newcastle, for more than a year, and he has established a reputation for quality food that's value for money. He serves brasserie-style food at lunchtimes, and a more elaborate menu in the evenings.
The pub's tenant, Terry Mellor, has been pressing the brewery, Jennings, to convert his tenancy to a lease, but, as is often the case, the process has taken a lot longer than expected. Now, though, there's some big news...
The secret's out. After several months of negotiations, the tenancy at the Wooden Doll pub is going to be converted to a lease after all. But the man who signs the deal won't be the brewery's current tenant, Terry Mellor. It will be Dean Eccles, proprietor of Adopted Business Strawberry's@theDoll, the restaurant that has its home at the Wooden Doll.
The deal has been in the pipeline for a couple of months, it seems. Mellor, who has been running the Wooden Doll for two-and-a-half years, has decided to move on. The salesman-turned publican has a young family and, like many in the hospitality industry, he hasn't been seeing enough of them.
Mellor's decision has given Eccles the opportunity to take on the lease himself. It's a big financial commitment - he is selling his house to raise the £35,000 he will pay Mellor for the pub's fixtures and fittings, and the annual rent to brewery Jennings will be £40,000 a year - but it didn't take him long to decide to take over the pub. "This is something I always wanted to do - either at the Wooden Doll or elsewhere," Eccles says. "Running the restaurant was really just foot in the door."
So, if everything goes according to plan, Eccles will take over the lease on 1 July. He'll be moving into the premises - along with girlfriend, Sarah - and taking on responsibility for the overall running of the pub and management of the 20 staff, as well as the operation of the restaurant. As a leaseholder, he won't be tied exclusively to Jennings, and he'll be able to put together the sort of wine list he wants.
It's a big step up in money terms - his original investment in Strawberry's@theDoll was just £5,000 - and it's going to mean some long days. "I generally get up at 6.30am, so I'll be spending a couple of hours sorting out the cellar first thing," Eccles says. "I'll still be making just about everything in the kitchen, and doing most of the mise en place, but I'll do rather less of the service. I want to spend more time front of house, and looking after the bar."
Eccles's new role is bound to mean more responsibility for the rest of the kitchen staff, particularly sous chef Vivienne Leck, who has worked at the pub since before Eccles joined, and who is already used to standing in for the boss. Leck regularly takes charge of the kitchens on Sundays, when Eccles takes a day off and the pub serves mainly traditional roast meals.
Eccles will be looking to strengthen the kitchen brigade by appointing another chef once he becomes the leaseholder. He's also planning to put restaurant manageress Sharon Horsborough in charge of the bar.
The hoped-for refurbishment of the pub's kitchen won't be part of the new deal, but Jennings is going ahead with a few improvements to the premises. "We're having some new windows fitted in the bar area, a new fence in the car park, and a new floor and extraction system in the kitchen." Eccles says. "The major refurbishment of the kitchen will have to wait for a few months - and it will be down to me to pay for it now."
Eccles will, though, be able to pay himself a proper salary as licensee. "I've mostly been living off Sarah for the past 15 months. I have had enough to pay the mortgage and the bills, but I've not had a lot for day-to-day spending. At least, from July, I'll start making profits from the business - and all the profits will go to me."
Factfile
Strawberry's@theDoll
The Wooden Doll
Hudson Street, North Shields, Newcastle NE30 1DL
Tel: 0191-258 1235
Head chef: Dean Eccles
Opened: February 2002
Seats: 50
Initial investment: £5,000
Average weekly sales (April): £3,000
Average weekly covers (April): 380