First Orders at the Bar

So, here we go! It’s been several months in the planning, but we’re finally on the verge of taking the lease on a great real ale pub in Sheffield, The Harlequin. This is a complete change of career for me – following several temporary jobs while trying to figure out what on earth to do with an archaeology degree, the last 8 years of my working life have been spent in academia.

And although I’ve had plenty of experience on the other side of the bar, I’d never worked in a pub before late last year: my first non-drinking experience of the pub industry was in 2008 when my fiancé Pete established The Brew Company, an independent craft brewery, and I helped out with initial sales, occasional deliveries and staffing the bar at beer festivals (as well as the odd bit of taste profiling, of course).

This lack of experience means that there’s an awful lot to learn which, coupled with the current economic climate, has led to much head scratching and eye rolling from family and friends on hearing that we’re taking a pub lease. But we’re in an incredibly lucky position: there’s a fantastic team of people already working at The Harlequin, and last week I started helping (or more accurately, hindering) at the pub to learn as much as possible from the owner/current landlady.

So I’m getting to learn about the routines, the various elements of work, the pub itself and its regulars with some supported hands-on experience rather than having to find my own way around it from day 1. Highlights so far? As well as getting to know the people who make the place run successfully, working on the bar is great fun on both quiet afternoons and busy evenings – it’s nice to begin recognising people who come in regularly, and to talk those who are interested through the current range on the bar.

Equally, though, I’m enjoying getting to grips with the cask cellar. I’m assured that my fascination with cellar work will wear off soon enough (!) but there’s something special about looking after a product that’s been crafted and cared for in small batches. I still get a little bamboozled by the keg cellar and its various couplings (hand-eye coordination has never been my strong point...) but hopefully with practice I’ll get the hang of it before too long.

Well, that’s where we are at the moment – over time I’ll offer some more thoughts about the pub itself, the experience of running it, and how national issues are impacting on us locally.

Cheers!