If you've just emerged from under a rock, you may not know that some local folk are trying to raise funds to purchase the Green Dragon pub and maintain it as a community asset. As part of this endeavour, a survey has been conducted to ascertain what the majority of Haddenham residents and other potential customers wish to see in terms of the food and beverage offering when the pub re-opens. So here are the results of that survey.
Survey Results and More ...
Thank you to every 426 one of you who took the time out to complete the online survey. We were delighted so get such a high response rate, which we think underlines the level of interest and enthusiasm in our community in keeping The Green Dragon alive. Caroline Cooper, our resident "Head of Research", has put together a detailed report on the results, some of these key insights we wanted to share here.
Age range?
Firstly, this project is clearly important to the whole community indicated by the spread of respondents' ages, broadly representative of the current population demographic.
18-30 years 6%
31-40 years 18%
41-50 years 29%
51-60 years 15%
61-70 years 20%
Without clear demographic information about the local population, the above spread looks representative of the age range within the village and is a good spread. If anything, the 18-30 age group may be a bit under-represented, but this could be reflective of the population size for this group.
What would you like the Green Dragon to be?
The majority, 81% of people, want the GD to remain as a place to eat and drink. With 14% preferring to see it as a restaurant/place to eat and just 5% as a place to drink.
How important is it that the pub layout has clearer distinction between the eating and drinking areas?
Most people, 68%, feel it is very or somewhat important to have a clearer distinction between the eating and drinking areas, with 32% feeling it is not so important/unimportant.
What type of food would you prefer?
The proposition for the GD is very clearly of a Gastro Pub level (much as it used to be some 14 years ago). With almost two thirds responding this way, it should be considered robust and reliable. Perhaps the provision of some 'lighter snacks' may help to satisfy those requesting more 'affordable pub food'. This result is also supported by the 'pricing question', which appears to validate people's opinions.
Fine Dining: 10%
Gastro Pub 59%
Affordable Pub Food: 32%
Lighter Snacks? 25% (of respondents requested these too)
How frequently are you likely to/would you like to use the GD?
The response level for 'just drinking' was significantly lower than other questions, with just 315 (74%) responding out of the 426 respondents. But, drinking had higher frequency, 34% of respondents stated they would like to/intended to drink approx. once a week, with 31% stating 1-2 times a month; 13% every 2 months and 12% 2+ times a week.
For eating, almost half, 45%, hoped to eat there 1-2 times a month, with 28% hoping to every 2 months, 13% quarterly and just 7% weekly.
How important is to you that food is sourced locally/from sustainable sources?
The response rate to this question was generally lower, suggesting less interest.
76% of respondents were positive, sighting it as very or somewhat important that food is sourced locally. (20 people chose not to respond to this question.)
70% of respondents felt it was very or somewhat important that produce comes from sustainable sources. (43 people chose not to respond.)
How much would you be prepared to pay for an adult main course?
Most respondents, 60%, are happy to pay £10-£15, which supports their food proposition choice and sits comfortably with typical gastro pub prices; 29% were happy to pay £15-£20 (just 7% said up to £10!)
How much would you be prepared to pay for a child main course?
Some clear results, 50% of people happy to pay £6-£8, 28% however were happy to only pay up to £6 and 23% prepared to pay more. 5% of respondents did not answer this question.
Open Question – What would most encourage you to use the Green Dragon?
As predicted, there are a lot of responses to this question. A lot has been said, but frequent words include:
Good/quality food and drink
Good Atmosphere
Friendly pub
Family friendly
Good service
Welcoming
Affordable
Village pub
Child friendly
Dog friendly
Good value
Consistency
We think it is fair to say, that many of the comments relate to a desire for affordable good food, real ales, good/responsive service, sensible prices and friendly, welcoming atmosphere, cosy environment (fire etc) and nice wine. Some good ideas too eg. incentives, warm seating, themed nights, set menus, more space for eating and beer garden etc.
As such this has been heard loud and clear and will form part of the recruitment process for the incoming tenant!!
We couldn't leave this update without sharing a few of our favourite and more unexpected (but luckily anonymous) comments...!
"Gastric style meals"
"Dog friendly ale and good prices"
"I think it would be nice if it had some llamas or a couple of micro pigs in the garden, and clean warm toilets"
Fund Raising Committee:
We now have a great fundraising committee who have come up with some exciting ideas on how to spread the word about our project further and how to raise our much needed funds.
Thank you once again to everyone whom has contributed to the upfront costs. We are still short of our legal up front costs target by approximately £1,500. So if you feel you can contribute to these upfront costs, no matter how big or small, it all helps. Please do directly to our bank account (details in section below).
Social Media
We now have some great looking social media accounts pleased do check them out alongside side the website. Huge thanks to Hayley and Huw for their work on this.
Building Survey
The Building Survey has now been completed and we are awaiting the full written copy of the report. The initial verbal indication from the Surveyor is that the sums we have allocated, on top of the purchase price, for repairs and refurbishment will be adequate.
Fundraising in February
We have lots of fundraising and publicity plans for February and will be setting them out shortly, including further public meetings for those that couldn't attend or get into the room last time. We will also shortly have a document giving all the detailed information regarding the share sale, we will let you know as soon as this is ready to distribute.
Please remember you can contact us at any time with any questions via email contact@greenphoenixpub.co.uk
Again, many thanks for your support, please spread the news and feel free to forward this newsletter to friends and family and we look forward to sharing more news soon,
Onwards!
The Green Phoenix Team.
Jamie Hall, Nick Leale, Jon Proctor, Paul Dixon, Chris Martin, Alex Giles, Gareth Cheeseman, Johnny Payne &
Alex Wagstaff
Website: www.greenphoenixpub.co.uk
Bank Account Details:
Account Name:
The Green Phoenix Public House Community Interest Company
Sort Code:
23-05-80
Account Number:
32121472
