Exterior Bars

In 2023 we began a project for St Austell Brewery who were exploring the option of external bars for their chain of pubs in Cornwall. They are a tourist based business who make the largest profits during summer months when outdoor seating is premium. Having spent summer seasons turning customers away, we were tasked with the design of an outdoor bar/ dining concept to allow customers to order/ receive food and drink options outdoors without adding strain to the indoor bar. We also had to be mindful of taking sales from the interior. We designed and fabricated a series of Shepherds Huts. We also renovated vintage and retro caravans and a horsebox as a mobile bar option for events throughout the year. The huts were built from the wheels up, plywood and whiterock lined with solid oak worktops, storage and a beer cooling system. We also built in a wood fired pizza oven. The space was a fully functioning kitchen and bar independent from the main building and included saladette, food fridges, bottle fridges and both practical and design based lighting. Floors were lined with non slip altro. Some of the huts were powered by generators, others by mains power taken from the building. The huts had 4 out beer fonts with a beer cooling line system. For their more youthful pubs, we sourced a range of vintage and retro caravans to convert into bars. Some were pizza oven based and others had a luxury panini offering. They all had solid oak worktops and were kitted out with all the fridges and saladettes. The caravans had the same beer cooling system and a 3 out beer font. The horsebox was a more complex design due to it being a mobile bar. We had to take into consideration weight and storage when towing. We focused on the interior design being a real talking point for customers, creating a unique space to work in and sell from. In terms of revenue from these external offerings, the pubs saw record breaking sales within a week and there was no impact on the internal bar sales. Having different food menu options that were an alternative to a sit down meal were the perfect offering for tourists leaving the beach looking for a casual drink and meal. The brewery recouped funds spent on the external bars within a couple of months. Staff were very keen to work in the external bars due to the use of space and well thought out interior design which maximised the available space.