Blackpool entrepreneur Rob raises glass to scheme

Having been given the all-clear after a two-year battle with the disease, last year the 48-year-old came up with Best Cellar, which aims to bring consistency of customer service and product quality and improve the overall standard within the pubs industry.

With the help of the New Enterprise Allowance, Rob has taken it from just an idea to an operational business with a number of clients already registering an interest in his service.

He said: “I left the front line of the industry after recovering from illness and spent several months examining the issues faced by operators and their teams of managed, tenanted and free trade pubs and realised I could help them.

“I have been a trainer for one of Britain’s biggest companies as well as a proprietor of a country inn, general manager and an area manager so can empathises with all those involved in hospitality.

“When I was a pub operator I could not find people to do these jobs for me. There is nobody doing this.”

Best Cellar provides in-house training which includes a cask ale masterclass, cellarmanship and customer service courses. It offers a pub health check ensuring compliance on issues such as cellar gas safety and cleanliness of ice machines and also undertakes cleaning and maintenance and repairs.

Rob, a fellow of the British Institute of Innkeepers (BII) and a member of the Society of Independent Brewers Association (SIBA) as well as CAMRA has already enlisted one of the region’s top breweries, Robinson’s, as a client.

He said: “I will be providing a service to their tenanted estate that includes a business health check and supporting those new to the industry.

“The business is growing and I have gone from Carlisle to Congleton in recent weeks.”