The Bull | The Bull in Leicester is truly a pub for all seasons.

ALL WELCOME

With its stellar facilities, inclusive ethos and diverse menu, The Roseacre Pub company’s newest site is fast becoming the talk of the town.

The Roseacre Pub Company has a very specific list of boxes that each of its sites must tick. As operations manager Ash Gartshore explains, its newest site, The Bull in Broughton Astley, Leicester, ticks every single one and many more.From its cosy front bar to its bright and stylish dining area and vast riverside garden, The Bull is truly a pub for all seasons.

Wend your way through the 150-seater outdoor space, including smart patio dining and more informal bench seating on its lawn and playfield and you’ll also see that The Bull is also a pub for all ages and all social occasions.Opened at the start of June this year, The Bull is the Roseacre Pub Company’s seventh site in the Leicestershire and Midlands area.It’s also less than three miles away from one of

THE LOWDOWN

THE BULL, LEICESTER

Outlet: The Bull, Broughton Astley, Leicester Format: Pub Operations manager: Ash Gartshore Time as a caterer: 16 years Staff: 6 chefs Opening Hours: 12pm-10.30pm

the company’s original and most successful sites: The Limetree in Whetstone, which Ash joined seven and a half years ago as general manager.

“The Lime Tree was one of our fi rst sites and one of the very fi rst people that I met when I joined was my Booker CDM John Russell,” Ash explains. “From day one, John has been such a massive support to me and to the company generally and that has continued to be the case with all of our other sites. John lives just a few miles away from The Bull and is such a rock. He’s fantastic at putting new products in-front of our noses and saying ‘why don’t you try this or that?’ As a team we are incredibly busy and I don’t necessarily have the time to explore all the new products or ranges available, so his suggestions and help are of huge value to me.”

The Bull, says Ash is a premium family pub and best described as an “affordable treat” venue. “We are not the cheapest, but we offer fantastic value for the quality, which means that we attract a really broad base of customers, he explains. “For some customers we are a special occasion venue, while for others we are more of an every-day venue.”

The pub itself features three distinct areas for dining and drinking, a cosy 40-seater front bar offering a more relaxed dining and drinking experience, a bright and airy 90-seater restaurant and the jewel in its crown: a vast 150-seater garden. The garden is split into three zones, including a more formal patio area, comfortable bench style seating on the lawn and more relaxed seating on its large grassy fi eld area.

The food menu is similarly diverse, as Ash explains: “Our menu is made up of a selection of quality classics such as pies and fi sh and chips, burgers, but we also have more elaborate items such as Lamb Souvlaki, Chicken Tikka Shashlik and Katsu Chicken. We also serve fantastic steaks. The vast majority of our food is homemade fresh every-day. Freshness is something we pride ourselves on. As a family pub we also target all age groups, so there’s something on the menu for children, for the 20s to 30s, the 30’s to 50s and then something for the older generations. The 50-plus demographic is our biggest, especially mid-week, but we are seeing a growing number of younger customers coming in on evenings and weekends. That’s why we’ve recently updated our menu for the summer with a number of on-trend items like slowcooked beef and halloumi tacos.

“Our best-seller currently is the chicken Tikka Shashlik. It’s fresh chicken marinaded with tikka spices on an open fl at bread

with fries. Our hearty ‘Sunshine Salads’ which feature big, bold flavours such as ‘Spicy Breaded Crab Cakes’ for example, are also very popular at this time of year.”

The vast majority of food and drink comes from Booker and The Bull alsouses the Blackgate range for all of itsfresh meat, including steaks, sausages and roasting joints. "We’re a big Blackgate fan, the quality is exceptional and all we get are compliments, especially for our steaks," says Ash.“Quality and great impressions are so important to us. We enjoy being the talk of the town. We want everyone to leave The Bull wanting to return and make or post a positive comment. We want that noise, those glowing Facebook reviews. At the Lime Tree, which opened just over eight years ago, we have over 5,000 Facebook followers and we have the same here. Many customers are local, but thanks to great reviews an increasing number are coming from further afield.Our team plays a key role in driving those reviews by pulling together to deliver memorable experiences. For me, culture is everything. I’m passionate about this job and this industry and I want to recruit like-minded people and nurture that passion.

“We are very forward-thinking in terms of our staffing. As a wider business, we don’t find new pubs first and then recruit the staff. We recruit the staff first and then embed them into our culture, so that when the time comes for us to open a new site, as we

PRIME LOCATION

'TEXTBOOK' LOCATION FOR ROSEACRE PUB COMPANY have done here, we can move them over.Similarly, we overrecruit staff all year round so that when the summer comes, we already have the right people in place to help us cope.”

Helping The Bull manage the summer sales spike is a selfcontained garden bar selling six different draught lagers, plus cider, a wide range of bottled beers, wines and soft drinks. There’s also a separate food ordering point in the garden. “Our large outdoor space means that hot and sunny days lead to a steep rise in footfall, so we pay close attention to the weather,” Ash adds.

Another of the garden’s key draws, especially for families, is the vast amount of open space that children have to run free. The area currently features a large bouncy castle, with a second one on order.“All Roseacre pubs are kid-friendly,” says Ash.“We’ve spent

The Roseacre Pub Company’s seventh and newest site The Bull is a “textbook location” for the company. Operations manager Ash Gartshore explains the top three key things it looks for in a new site.

“We look for three key things in a site: suburban location, a big car-park and lots of outdoor space for dining, drinking and play. Fortunately for us The Bull has all three,” he says.

“We like suburban sites with lots of chimney pots. We never go for town-centre sites. We want to be the reason that

xxx 37 diners don’t go into the town centre. With us, they don’t need to pay for parking, and they are guaranteed premium xxx

food and drinks, fantastic service and amazing facilities.”

"We want everyone to leave The Bull wanting to return and wanting to make or post a positive comment."

ASH GARTSHORE

a lot of time developing a really good kids food offer that keeps everyone happy.We’ve tried all sorts over the years but what we’ve learned is that what kids and their parents truly want is just the staples, but done really well. So we offer sausages, pizza, nuggets and so on, but great quality and for a great price. Most main dishes cost £4.50 and come with the option of fries, salad, baked beans or peas. Breaded plant-based fillets and other vegetarian options are also available.”

Keeping the facilities in tip-top condition is also key, insists Ash: "We’ve just invested in new garden benches with backs to keep the customers more comfortable. They won’t sit on an uncomfortable stool for longer than an hour and we want them to stay for much longer than that.We are also planning a mini refresh of the pub’s front bar area in time for autumn and wintee. We’ll be adding new fabrics, paint and wallpaper to make it even more attractive.”

Family fun days are another way in which all Roseacre Pubs keep their guests coming back for more, says Ash:“We hold regular family events in summer. Fun Days are a great way of showcasing our offer and growing loyalty. We’ve got the bouncy castles but we also get face painters and arrange petting zoos, which the children love.”

July saw The Bull host a free Family Fun Day complete with an Ed Sheeran Tribute band, assault course, toddler soft play, two bouncy castles and street performers – with hundreds of happy locals having attended. “These type of events are a great way of building strong emotional attachments between us and our guests," concludes Ash.“They go away with full bellies and full hearts and can’t wait to come again, which is what we are all about."

“Events are a great way of building strong emotional attachments between us and our

guests.” ASH GARTSHORE

xxx ASH'S SPECIAL BOARD

TEAM SPIRIT

Culture is everything and he works hard to nurture a positive team culture with happy, passionate and motivated staff.

FRESH FOOT FORWARD

Fresh homemade food is a key USP for The Bull. Deliveries come 6 days a week and 80 percent of the food is freshly made.

INVEST TO IMPRESS

Ash and the team invest heavily in the facilities on an ongoing basis to ensure that standards remain high at all times. Bouncy castles are replaced every two years and exterior seating has been refreshed to offer maximum comfort. The company is also just about to invest in a refresh of the bar area with new wallpapers, paint and fabrics.