Pub groups, including JD Wetherspoon, Fullers, Marston’s and Mitchells & Butlers, reported a rise in like-for-like sales over the summer, as consumers proved to be in the mood to spend while the sun was shining. Beer gardens and other outdoor spaces clearly come in to their own during the warmer months, but how can pub operators use those areas to generate sales during the winter too?

Many customers are actually happy to sit outside in colder weather, as long as they are warm and dry. The outdoor heaters, blankets and hot water bottles once synonymous with Parisian cafés and ski resorts are fast being adopted in British beer gardens too. These are a relatively cheap and easy way to keep customers eating and drinking al fresco as colder weather arrives.

Temporary structures to cover outdoor spaces are another solution. Stretched canvas structures, used by operators such as Indigo Pub Company in Brighton, enable a canopy to be erected over beer gardens or other areas of irregular shape and size. They are flexible and generally more cost effective than having a bespoke structure designed and built. 

Permanent outdoor structures are also becoming more widely embraced. Coppa Club’s terrace pods at Tower Bridge, London, can be opened up enough to stay cool in summer then transformed into cosy winter igloos complete with sheepskin rugs.

People’s Park Tavern in Hackney has transformed a car park into a year-round pub garden with wooden booths containing built in heaters. Such booths, sometimes referred to as chalets, are also used effectively by Kent-based pub group Whiting and Hammond and Agellus Hotels at The Chequers Inn, Thornham. 

Events and activities hosted in outdoor spaces can also be valuable winter footfall drivers. THIS Event Co specialises in immersive experiences, such as temporary ice rinks. At Hammerson’s Westquay Watermark in Southampton just such a rink brought a great deal of footfall to the scheme on crisp winter nights. 

It may be cold outside, but with some creative thinking, beer gardens and outdoor spaces are hotting up. 

This content first appeared in The Morning Advertiser.

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