The Rumsey Wells - Running A Pub In A Pandemic Age

One of the things most missed by the British public in the past year has been the humble pub. From a quiet solo pint to a massive mate get together as well as quizzes, live music, pub grub and booze tasting, we can't wait to get back in. We spoke to Dan and Katie from one of Norwich's most loved pubs The Rumsey Wells about how they've managed and what they have in store for all of us in the future!

What was your expectation when the first lockdown was announced in March 2020?

Once we had got over the initial shock and fully understood the public health implications I am not sure we had any expectations to be honest. We simply wanted to do the right thing. We are incredibly fortunate to be so well supported by our brewery Adnams too and we have worked really closely with them throughout.

How did you find operating during the tier system?

Tier 1

To be frank operating under any restrictions was incredibly hard and it put pressures on everyone from our suppliers to our team. However, tier one was workable for us and we were confident that we could operate safely and effectively. The key thing for us was loosing our DJ and live music offering, it felt like we had lost a limb but we were happy to do the right thing for the short term, it just made things feel very different. Having to offer food with every transaction was a real challenge but we were fortunate to have an existing great food offer form Pieminister and starting working with Brick Pizza as a result too, so there were definitely some positives.

Tier 3

Tier three was pretty much unworkable for us. We are a very small team, on a small site and this simply did not make the business viable, it also just just didn’t feel right.

It must have been hard to open under the restrictions without loosing money, considering all the other aspects you had to put in place?

It has been incredibly tough and we had to work incredibly hard to make sure things were efficient. The grants and flexible furlough have been a real help but there are many other ongoing costs and need to be considered.

I know that you teamed up on to help create MysaBar at the Castle Quarter, how did that go before the rug was pulled with lockdown 3?

Mysabar was great. We knew we had to do something because our garden is tiny our relatively pub thrives on being bustling with band, DJ’s and programming, which was likely to be a while before a full return. So we teamed up with the guys at Lunar stretch tents and it worked out really well, They have years of events experience to bring to the table and are really great guys. The event was a success and we got to work with some great local businesses too. Plenty more to come from Mysabar this year…

In what ways has the pandemic affected your thinking on your business?

On the grounds it has made us review system and focus on what’s really important to us, our offer and our customers. We have been trading for nearly 13 years now and so it good to have time and reflect and what drives us.

How have your staff have coped and what have they been doing to help support and maintain the business during the lockdowns?

It has been differing levels of tough for everyone for sure and its been like a rollercoaster for most if us. Our guys are keeping well generally and are super excited about getting back to it. A few of them are artists and so they have managed to keep really busy with creative work throughout which is great.

How have you kept peace and calm during this difficult time?

Having time to focus on family and an opportunity to homeschool kids has been brilliant for me. I'm not sure I would describe it as calm but I have loved it.

How has it affected your personal values?

There is something about the pace of things that has changed for me and finding the space and time to balance work and home properly.

What, if any, positives have you found coming out of the pandemic?

I feel like there are so many positives from this. We have new working relationships and we’ve found the time review what really drives us as a business. The community support from our loyal customers and the team sprit from everyone involved with The Rumsey has been truly humbling too.

What do you think you will change as a result of the pandemic experience?

Generally speaking, I am sure there will be many changes from this on how we consume, engage and go about our daily lives. For the pub we anticipate there will likely be some continued short term changes but fundamentally the great British pub is such an important place for so many people we are confident that it will always serve as the sanctuary it has always been.

Looking forward, what are your hopes and expectations?

We’ve learned not to have too many of those in the past year but instead just to remain focused and positive. Things are never certain at the moment but we hope to be back to programming as we slowly build back up to full programming and packing things out again as soon as we can.

Will you be opening your garden on 12th April?

We only have a small garden but we have decided that we will open on limited hours (Thursday / Friday / Saturday) in April / May. Bookings are filling up fast (rumseywellsbookings@gmail.com) and we are busy getting the garden ready for everyone - we cannot wait!

Anything else you would like to share with our readers?

Just that we cannot wait to see everyone for a pie and pint.

Mysabar will also be open April 15h - May 16th (every Thursday / Friday / Saturday / Sunday).

https://www.rumseywells.co.uk

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