‘We shut this on the Thursday and by the Friday we were doing takeaway food…’

Tim Bird, co-founder of Cheshire Cat Pubs & Bars, entered lockdown in March as the head of a successful group of pubs and came out the other side with a new string to his bow.

Our film is a profile of Tim – capturing the ethos of what Cheshire Cat is about and breaking down the factors that led to their success during the UK’s first lockdown through the early part of 2020.

The film tells the full story, however below we’ve broken down some key lessons from Tim that defined their approach:

Help me to help you

‘By opening the pub hub we gave our customers the opportunity to support us. We showed that we were going to fight for our survival and do it by supporting the community. This mutual support network put us in real a position of strength. Without that outlet our community wouldn’t have had any way to help us survive, so providing a way for your customers to support you is vital.’

What are people missing?

‘Our ethos in the hub was ‘Bring the pub home’, we really put a lot of thought into what people were missing about the pub. With spending so much time cooped up we knew people would be longing for treats like homemade sausage rolls, or our hand-crafted pies. Offering those dishes through the hub helped us move from a ‘basic’ takeaway outlet to a unique provider of home comforts.’

Be proactive

‘By transitioning so quickly it meant we start building the hub immediately. The longer we had left it the harder it would have been to build that support and grow the hub so adapting to the scenario as quick as you can is key.’

The Pub Hub is open again throughout lockdown so if you’re within driving distance of Mobberley then treat yourself to some Pub Hub grub via the link below:

The Roebuck Inn – Pub Hub