You need to keep pushing the envelope | Charlie McVeigh

“We’ve opened three pubs in 12 weeks so maybe it’s time for a brief pause before we go again,” explains Charlie McVeigh, founder of the Draft House family of pubs.

But you get the impression that it won’t take long for McVeigh to want to get back into the thick of it.

In July of this year, The Draft House announced that it had bought six new pubs as part of its acquisition of the Grand Union Group. Since then, sites in Camden, Kennington and most recently, Paddington, have opened while Farringdon, Chancery Lane and Wapping are next up in 2018.

“People tell me it’s great that we’ve taken on these six sites. But it’s far more than that, we’ve got cultures and people to respect. We’ve not solely taken on bricks and mortar,” says McVeigh.

He adds: “Our identity had remained the same since we started this thing back in 2009. At its core, we want to run great pubs and I think we are doing that. When we open a new pub, we don’t impose ourselves on the local market, we try and reflect it.

“So that’s why we let each team buy the beer for their pub. They know their customers and they know what works and what doesn’t. There’s no point telling people what to do. Everyone here has a passion for what they do and they have a true love for beer.”

It’s been a hectic year for McVeigh and the Draft House team and he acknowledges the task they’ve undertaken.

“I’m proud of what we’ve done but this game is such a moving target. I suppose it’s some sort of psychosis as you don’t really do it unless you’re a bit mad. Taking on new sites has been great but in reality, the market is so fierce and you need to keep pushing the envelope. Standing still isn’t an option,” he adds.

And for McVeigh, having a great team on board is an integral way to keep the company moving forward.

“Engagement is key. We have a great team at The Draft House and we don’t look upon the beer we sell as just another product. People are proud of what they are doing, they’re competitive when they see another pub in the group getting a beer they didn’t and they love being around beer. And that’s a good thing.”

Charlie McVeigh is speaking at the Brewers Congress in London next month.

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