LOTI

[wully]

Sad news if you are heading to Craobh anytime soon and fancy a pint.

The Lord of the Isles will remain closed until someone buys it..

Could be a thirsty summer ‘cos no doubt some tosser will want it for a posh holiday house.

In case any of you fancy a shortcut to alcoholism:

The Lord Of The Isles will remain closed and will shortly be marketed FOR SALE. Any interested parties should initially contact Lisa on lisaheadoffice@aol.com

[claymore]

Wullyum
D'ye fancy a wee flutter wi it?
I could pull together a few bob if you fancy being the major shareholder?

[wully]

A Fyne offer Claysie but I could drink myself to insolvency pretty quickly on my own, with two of us involved?…..

[BlowingOldBoots]

Covid wasn’t kind to LOTI and I don’t think it really recovered under new management.

Hopefully a new owner can be found quickly and make a success of it.

[Gardenshed]

shame to hear
good for all in Craobh if there is a decent pub and restaurant, but the last few years appears to have been a consistent struggle between owners and staffing. it'd be great to see a hands on owner re-energise the place

WHYW will also be concerned as lacking a drinks licensee on site, it'll be more difficult to arrange and host the start of week parties

[Gardenshed]

apparently the marina "have a plan".....

No idea what it is and I'm sure it isn't buying and running the LOTI

[wully]

I could tell you but then I’d have to…….

[Gardenshed]

should we be optimistic? any idea how soon it will be ready?

[stevepick]

I would be optimistic about possible solutions. As for the pub? Hmm its been mismanaged for at least a decade? Some previous front of house folk were operating in full Basil Fawlty mode. I was made to feel an unwelcome annoyance for simply attempting to be a customer numerous times. It should be a viable option as a business, several hundred weekend customers on their doorstep, and plenty of the house rental folk want a few meals whilst on holidays. The asking price will probably be way too high, for a building that needs a fair amount of work IMHO. So I am not optimistic of the pub re-opening soon, but there is a large, long season, market niche that will be filled eventually. Fingers crossed it happens sooner , rather than later.

[Gardenshed]

agree
a decade of mismanagement indeed
latterly, the staff and owners/managers were at odds with each other (I'm sure there are 2 sides to every story) and even if it was quiet, you were made to feel that they were doing you a favour by allowing you to oder a meal. Not very welcoming or flexible.
With the right owner/manager it'll be fine, but quite a challenge to finance, upgrade the building and get it running again.
in the interim, it'll be interesting to see what the Marina team come up with to offer to the "several hundred weekend customers". Making that offer successful just might help potential buyers of the LOTI see the potential

[BlowingOldBoots]

Food is very low margin as is alcohol sales. There are elements to both that offer high margin, but how many cokes and puddings can you sell.

I don’t know what the building is like, it looks to be in a reasonable state of repair. Maybe it is not that energy efficient.

I think it would suit a private owner best, who had no debt and could work margins. I don’t think the demand is that high for food and drink. It is in competition with other places that have high passing footfall and a holiday market.

Attitudes to grossing out on booze and grub have changed. The motor home market is burgeoning (whatever the pros and cons) and free motor home parking if you have a meal is a revenue stream I would want to attract as an owner, but does Holt have a say in that, do they own the whole car park?

I agree that the marina and holiday home local market needs to be actively encouraged to attend, but so do other potential revenue streams.

I do hope that it gets opened soon.

[stevepick]

Standard gross margins for food and drink are around the 60% mark, so they are not low margin. Plenty of people can make hospitality work, it takes some skill, and an ability to work facing an often deluded public, but plenty of people make a good job of it. Several operations not a million miles from Craobh are doing an excellent job of it.
I think there is a lot of demand , the cottages/houses are largely tourist rentals, nobody comes on a self catering holiday planing to cook for the whole week. At weekends and during the summer , there are loads of folk on the yachts, so there is a market. It is just not being served, and hasn't been for years. If you think there is no market , try doing a walk in at Lucy's almost anytime they are open

[BlowingOldBoots]

Ardfern has access to a significantly different market than LOTI, which offers greater possibilities for income and is not comparable to Craobh. Lucy’s is very community orientated, plus Ardfern is a destination in itself that Craobh cant match. Craobh has a much smaller market.

Profit margins in the UK on bar meal type food are around 15% top, much less on average. Quality food can make higher margins at higher prices to customers if the quality is there.

I wish whomever buys it success and has an imagination to make it work well. I will certainly support the new owners endeavours, unless totally pish.