Tara Wearing, general manager of the cherry tree in newcastle-under-lyme
Tara Wearing is General Manager of The Cherry Tree in Newcastle-under-Lyme. By using social media and harnessing her passion for the job, she exceeded all sales expectations when pubs reopened.
I grew up in pubs, because my mum always ran them. I worked in a Greene King pub while at college studying sports science and drama and got made a team manager at 18. I realised I wanted to make a career in this industry, so didn’t finish my college course and was assistant manager here at The Cherry Tree before I got my own pub in Crewe, nine months later. So, I was in my first role as a general manager (GM) when Covid-19 struck.
In February 2020 I was on a team ski trip in France with other GMs when we heard that someone on the complex had the virus. We’d all heard about coronavirus but just thought it was something in China. I was only 22 at the time, but certainly wasn’t the only one who was naïve enough to think it wouldn’t affect the UK. Little did we know that pubs would be completely shut a few weeks later.
Strange times
I got back from skiing and noticed customer numbers were really down. It was extremely quiet and the pub was so empty, it felt eerie. The night the Prime Minister said pubs must close I had a handful of regulars in. I was pouring a Carling and had the TVs on listening to the briefing and suddenly all eyes were on me. I was bombarded with questions. I even had regulars ringing to ask me what was going on. Within 20 minutes the pub was full. I’ll never forget it – it was a crazy, crazy night.
My business development manager came in and took management calls from my office while I took control of the pub. Luckily, I managed to get everyone to leave without any hassle. The actual closing down was very, very efficient but I did find the following weeks tough. I hadn’t even been a GM for a year and was living alone. Support from other GMs in the area got me through, though. I found staying active with exercise like running really helped, too.
Flying start
My goal was always to come back to The Cherry Tree. I grew up around here, so this is my local. It’s close to family and friends, and feels like home. I returned as GM in July 2020, just before the Eat Out To Help Out government scheme was launched, and it was all systems go.
I was nervous. It’s a big pub, with a big team – but I was also really excited; I definitely felt ready for it. Taking over during a pandemic was odd. Team members were looking to me for answers, rules were changing a lot, and I was working with Covid restrictions in place. I was always super aware of being Pub Safe because a pub down the road (not a Greene King pub) was closed down for not following rules. But we did record sales in my first week. In August 2020 we continued to consistently beat previous sales figures. And that’s with all the rules of six people to a table only, no customers allowed at the bar, table service, masks on when you moved… so many restrictions on behaviour.
Outdoor investment
We had to close again in November 2020 and at that time were lucky enough to receive some investment in the pub garden. It’s a huge garden, that’s well-known in the area, and it had quite a makeover. New landscaping, three new huts, new lighting… it effectively improved the number of covers I could have outside to 250, which is more than I can seat inside.
So when we re-opened in April 2021 I was so ready for it. I posted a pic of the team in the garden on Facebook and it was our most viewed post ever – around 10,000 people saw it. Previously, the most this pub had earned in a week was £36,000; in that first week we took £43,000, and that was with outdoor seating only.
What we weren’t ready for was a move from serving 55% as drinks, versus 45% food, to 88% drinks. After four months of lockdown, people were very ready to sit in a pub garden and enjoy a drink. We were fully booked, to the point that I was receiving personal messages from friends begging me to squeeze them in.
It’s been an amazing experience and I’m so grateful to Greene King for trusting me, giving me these opportunities and investing in me. They gave me my first pub at 20 and I cannot fault the support I’ve received along the way. I’ve seen the way they handled the pandemic and it fills me with pride that I’m part of this incredible team. It just makes me want to work even harder.