Home run

So we're on the home stretch (fair wind/fingers crossed etc etc!!) for our lovely pub coming together and what you can see in this picture is the upstairs part of the pub being viewed from new HUGE French doors that will lead you straight out into the garden. Some of the lighting has been put on - all has come from reclaimed ships fixtures and fittings, and when you see the light fitting over the new stairs I promise you will be blown away by it!!

The whole pub is still pretty much a huge building site and as one one workman was heard to say 'There's not a blooming straight wall in the place'!!  But they are working incredibly hard and in shocking weather conditions that has definitely not helped them at all.  But where there has been a break in the weather then the painters have been out there and made full use of the dry weather.

My little peep holes that I created in the windowlened windows have proved very popular, and I think the workmen were a little surprised at all the interest being shown in their work.

Our own team have been in this week painting the Hobbit House as well as painting and cleaning garden furniture. The store room has been emptied and tidied and surprisingly quite a bit(at last) thrown out!!

I am now far from bored (see the last Blog) as things are really cranking up a gear and I suddenly have quite a lot to do, so I am unlikely to write another blog before we open - which we hope to do either the afternoon of the 29th or Thursday 30th January.

So, I hope you'll think of us and wish us all luck as we endeavour to get to our opening date. A bit of good weather wouldn't go amiss either!!!

Much love

Liz x

I can't believe I'm saying this, but........

The pub with no name - or beer!!!!!

I am bored!!!! Bored!!!! Bored!!!! A whole week we've been shut, and whilst the first few days were nice lie ins and lazing around - NOW - I'm thoroughly and utterly bored!!!

Yes, a whole week we've been shut! On our last Saturday we had very little food but with creativity from my kitchen team we managed to serve 108 meals.......... SOH had worked the beers exceedingly well and we wasted only a little bit of one beer! So that went very well..........

The team turned up on the following day to strip out the pub and the designer and team with 2 small lorries took away every stick of furniture, bric a brack and countless photos, pictures and mirrors. Then, there we were with an empty pub........... very bizarre it was too! In 6 short hours the Vic went from a busy happy pub with bags of character to a cold and pretty unfriendly shell. We meanwhile, went to another pub in town and looked a bit sorrowful!

The builders turned up the following day on time and by day 4 the Vic was completely and utterly under their spell. Wires (dozen of the buggers) appeared from seemingly nowhere causing a not too small headache for Gary the foreman, walls were knocked down and first coats of paint were applied!
Walls were exposed at the back top of the old restaurant showing brickwork that had not seen light for many hundreds of years - some of which SOH has kept for a rockery in the pub garden.

The cellar has had some additional drainage put in so that SOH can clean it easier (bit of a pain its been - but as it's not my part of ship I can't confess to being awfully interested!) but he was like a child who'd experienced Christmas for the first time.

I popped my head in last week and have to say that I was totally and completely overwhelmed - not just by the fact its a massive building site, but that I can already see the amazing potential of how its going to look when it's finished. But apart from a site visit this week I'm going to stay away and you're not getting any more photos because actually I want to feel the joy of seeing it made over and I want you to experience it too. Also, because doing this blog from my home means I am using my new lap top and have not yet mastered art of putting more than one photo on!!!! So, if you really want to look at what's happening have a look at the Victoria Inn facebook. Sorry darlings!

So what else have I done this week?? Well, I've cleaned and tidied our kitchen cupboards at home, we've been out and bought paint etc for the Hobbit House which also has a makeover whilst we're shut - but we are doing that ourselves. We've also visited another St Austell pub; The Cornish Arms, where we had an amazing meal!

We also took the team out for the day on Wednesday.  We went to Plymouth Gin first which was brilliant - drinking Gin at about 11 in the morning was a bit harsh though....... then to Rockfish for brilliant Fish & Chips. An afternoons bowling with me screaming at the top of my lungs egging on the teams (as well as playing) and finally a so so meal at a chain restaurant in the Bowling complex.

We go on a bit of a buying trip for the pub this coming week as well as taking the chance to pop into Portsmouth and see my family. Menu stuff to do, paper to be sorted for printing menus on, staff uniforms to finalise etc, etc and etc...................

Last day today!

Yep - that's it at last..... after months of talking about it, the day has finally come that we're closed from close of business tonight until (hopefully) the 29th/30th January in order for our re-furbishment to take place.

We've got a few Steaks, Burgers and Fish dishes left for tonight, but sod all else! A little bit of Dartmoor Ale left likewise, but otherwise SOH has been his usual fantastic self and got the ordering spot on!

All of the team is in tomorrow morning at 9 to start stripping out, boxing, sorting and packing with the removal lorries coming at 11 to take down the pictures, dismantle furniture and take everything away. The contractors come in at 7.30 Monday morning and with good luck and a fair wind the work will start.

Its been a slightly fraught couple of days as we came the closest ever to being flooded with the water ending just 7 feet approximately from our front door.............. the rest of the town was not so lucky with pictures of a local RNLI guy sailing his boat down the high street making Sky News!! However, as I say we were ok and received lots of messages asking and hoping that we were all ok!

Wish us well for tomorrow and we'll see you all soon,

Liz x



Happy New Year

 

 

Just a very short blog from Tim, myself and all of our fantastic team. You've made 2013 another incredible year for us here at the Victoria Inn and as we start to look forward to our amazing re-furb starting on Monday we are filled with excitement, slight nervousness and a sprinkling of trepidation!!

 

But we just know that we are going to be offering you a fantastic new pub in which you are going to love spending even more time with us. It will retain the best of the best features and some amazing new ones including; comfy seating upstairs, window seats for you to watch the Salcombe world go by, easier access to the garden and a new refined menu along with some great little surprises!

 

I'd like to take this opportunity to also say a huge thank you to our brewery St Austell for having the faith in us as a business to afford us the opportunity for this re-furb and in particular to our friend Jim Sloan, Business Manager who supports us at every opportunity and is always there with guidance, ideas and enthusiasm.

 

Our team never fail to delight us with their passion for our business and their commitment to customer happiness is key in everything they do. So to Glo, Rob, Jess, Karen, Craig and Jade - our front of house team - Thank you so much and keep going the extra inch. To James, Tania, Stuart, Adam and our two apprentices Aaron and Blake - without the high standard of your cooking and presentation we would have no customers, so huge thanks to you all!

 

To my lovely Tim who puts up with my passion for our business showing itself in a myriad of ways including temper tantrums, exhaustion and sheer delight when it all goes swimmingly - I love you!!

 

So that's it - the Oscar speech for 2013 is all but done, other than to say we close the doors to the Vic at 10.30p.m on Saturday 4th January - we shall probably be having a food sale with some great prices on that Saturday and maybe some reduced ale prices as well. We then hope to open for business on either the 29th or 30th January.

 

I'll blog, face book; https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Victoria-Inn-Salcombe/136141733123940?ref=hl  Twitter; https://twitter.com/Victoriainnsalc  and you-tube (put in Victoria Inn Salcombe in the search part)  wherever possible to keep you all updated on the works progress.

 

Lastly, and by no means least a huge THANK YOU to YOU, yes YOU our customers for your loyalty, friendship and business.

 

Liz xxx

Christmas Eve.........



 

Its Christmas Eve 2013 and I was so pleased that Father Christmas kept his word and visited the Victoria Inn last weekend to see 65 girls and boys who came to tell him that they'd been good children and whisper what they hoped would be in their stockings or round the tree on Christmas morning.  Some of us found it quite emotional with the very small children as it ignited many personal memories of Christmases past.

 

The stall holders turned up and had a fairly good trade - some more than others, but generally I think everyone did ok and we raised £186 in total - which is not to bad at all! Those proceeds will be split between the Salcombe First Responders and Egremont Trust Charities.  

 

The weather has been absolutely awful and has had a huge impact on trade throughout the town, so we are desperately watching news bulletins and hoping and praying that our visitors WILL be able to come down.

 

The Carol Service round the tree was transferred to the Church last night because of the weather and we had 2 large parties cancel - however, despite all of that, we had a great night and the pub rocked!!

 

We are pleased to say that we are fully booked for New Years Eve unless anyone wants to eat early, and we have just a few tables for tonight.

 

So, can Tim, Myself and all the team take this opportunity to wish all of our customers, suppliers & colleagues at St Austell Brewery a Very Happy & Peaceful Christmas!  

 

Love to you all,

Liz xxx

 

Christmas Fayre

This weekend - Saturday 21st & Sunday 22nd at the Victoria Inn - our first ever Christmas Fayre!! From 11.00 till about 5'ish............. Father Christmas has agreed to come and visit for the two days and there will be lots of craft stalls, pictures, photo's, produce, antiques (no - not me, cheeky!!), books, decorations, cakes (Sunday) and lots, lots more!!!

 

 

Entrance is just £1 to see Father Christmas and lots of hard work has gone into this, so I hope you'll come and support the event.  All monies raised will be split between the Egremont Trust and Salcombe First Responders.  

Its the last Christmas........

As were putting the decs up this week ( I say WE in the very loosest terms!) I realised that this was the last Christmas our pub will look like this! As in less than a month now the sledgehammer will go against the wall that's coming down and gorgeousness will begin.

The tree will no longer stand where it is now and only in our individual minds eyes and the eyes of our architect can we dream about how beautiful our Victoria will shortly look!  

As usual the team have made Christmas a reality in our fabulous pub and the minute you walk in, you're treated to festivity, lights, candles and the smell of mulled wine wafting through the air - alongside a range of home made special vodkas and a couple of cocktails - Long Island Mint Tea being thoroughly, wickedly, lovely!

I think we are all of the mind that we are ready for this re-furb to start now - we seem to have spent ages and ages talking about it, but the lighting man came out to discuss with us this week about the lighting we'll be having and I felt the first real frisson of excitement as I actually saw in my head how beautiful this pub of ours will look.

We have the new menu's ready to go, with some prices actually reduced - particularly the childrens meals - the wine list is re-vamped and the new team uniforms are here.  Some new discount cards as well - more of that to come over the next month or so.

The only slight disappointment so far is that in the middle of the newly re-furbished upstairs of our pub it looks unlikely that we'll be able to have a log burning stove so we are desperately seeking eye catching centre piece ideas............... if you have any thoughts (clean ones please - not involving pole dancing or naked chefs) then do let me know! I fancy a large Ships wheel or copper divers suit (properly lit of course) but it seems the world and its mother have differing ideas, so that's a real work in progress!

See you 21st & 22ndDecember at the Vic!

But before the re-furb comes Christmas and New Year with NYE bookings coming in nicely and this year we have also secured a couple of Christmas parties which is always nice to get every one in the swing of the festivities.

A shortened trip to my family next weekend (sadly one night only) and then we have our Christmas Fayre here at the Vic on the Saturday on Saturday 21st and  Sunday 22nd - 11.00 to 5 ish. 

Father Christmas has very kindly agreed to come and say hello to all the children here in Salcombe for those two days before he jets off across the world. Lots of stalls lined up - from decorations to cakes, jewellery to children's books, sweets and jams, so lots of fun for everyone!  

Got to go now - so very, very busy.................

Much love

Liz x