The Whippet Inn (May 2020)
The Whippet Inn, Chamberlayne Road, Kensal Green, London, May 2020
Many businesses, in order to stay afloat during lockdown, and to stay connected with their customers, are opening up pop-up grocery stores. The Whippet Inn, for the time being, is a transformation of a pub into a grocery store. I spoke to David, the manager of the pub.
“Well basically, the company has got twenty pubs across London. All the staff were furloughed, and what we’ve got to do is adapt to survive to make sure that when we come out of lockdown, we’ve still got those twenty pubs. They’re looking at most of the local sites, this one was the first one we did, that was about a month ago now. I got a phone call saying they wanted to take me off furlough, if I got a small team of staff together, and we were gonna turn it into a deli cum green grocery cum bakery.
We obviously still sell the beer still on draft in sealed vessels, which we’ve got a licence to do so. And we quickly got in there, we pulled the fridges out of the kitchen, we got the shelving, ordered a bit more shelving, and the layout was quite simple here; it’s about keeping people safe – in one door, out the other, move around. And more to the point, keeping the staff safe. So, making a little till at the front here, having all the correct PPE and sanitisers and marking the floor up so people feel comfortable. It works here more so that anymore because of the layout.
They’ve done it in four more pubs now, fifth one just opened today, in Highgate. It’s about adapting the pub and making a route, almost like Ikea or the Tate, following it around, and making it a bit more pleasurable than it is at the supermarket.
It’s been very different running a grocery store compared to the usual line of work. Beer is easy; it’s got a good shelf-life on it. Wine can sit on a shelf for ages, but fruit and veg, it’s a day or so, so you got to act quick. We’re all learning new skills. It’s good. It’s interesting. It’s earlier mornings, but you get home earlier as well, so after doing night shifts in hospitality for twenty-two years it’s a bit of a wake-up call. I’ve realised I’m a night owl. So, we’re adjusting.
But yeah, the shelf-life. It’s about rotating the stock really quickly, if you can. Pricing it right and making sure you’re not pricing out the customers. You’re never going to be able to beat supermarkets, but like I said, it’s trying to put everything under one roof, being able to get your draft beer and wine, being able to have a chat with your old landlord or the staff you know. And more to the point, supporting your local, because there will be a Tesco’s, or a Starbucks, or a Costa at the end of this but, there might not be your local grocery store or your local pub and things like that. It’s about community, and people realise that, and they want to help you out and shop.”
I asked him if there was anything about this process that he found surprisingly enjoyable.
“More than anything, it was talking to people. Doing this for so long, you don’t realise how much you talk. When you’re back talking to customers, you realise how much it means to you, talking to people. That’s the main thing I’ve enjoyed. The set-up, as well. I’ve enjoyed turning one business into another business. It’s constantly evolving, we’re making all these little tweaks; we’re making sandwiches today, and selling ice-cream, anything to get people through the doors! They can come in and then nip off to the park.”
Before we said goodbye, I asked him if he had any parting comments.
“Support your locals! We’re not here to rip anyone off, we’re here to keep our business running afloat, and getting people off furlough at the end of this, and keeping the high street the way it is, rather than all being turned into chains.”