Lucy Townsend of The Greyhound on the Test on juggling her different businesses

The mum-of-one, who was the first licensee to win a case against Punch through the Pubs Independent Conciliation and Arbitration Service (PICAS), also has a 50 per cent interest in bakery Hoxton Bakehouse and runs a charity called the Alex Lewis Trust in aid of her husband who suffers from a very rare illness. 

Here she talks about juggling her different businesses 

How did it feel to win Michelin pub of the year? ​

The pub opened in the March and I got the call in November that we had won it against 580 pubs. I was so proud. Michelin were lovely and said they had kept an eye on me over the years and what I had been doing. To be recognised is very good.

How do you compete against fine-dining restaurants? ​

We have to keep reinventing ourselves. What has been interesting is that over the past few months’ customers say they have seen a big improvement. It is about keeping your offer fresh and that is what you can do when you are hands-on. When you have multiple pubs it is very hard to do. I had five pubs with the Miller Collection and had to try to juggle them. The pub (The Greyhound on the Test) is so close to London, and a lot of people commute, so if they want a fancy restaurant they can go while they are up in London. They can come here for a pint, some food that is not too expensive and it’s a community. A pub is everybody’s and that is lovely.

Why did you launch the outside catering business? ​

I have been doing outside catering for a long time and people would ask me to run dinner parties and we did lots of corporate days. It got to the point when I said I need to take this more seriously because it was becoming a monster on its own. I decided to do it and see if it worked and now have 40 weddings this year. We have never promoted it and all the business has been driven by word of mouth.

I do love that I can keep running the Greyhound and have a catering business, which has always been my passion.

You have a 50 per cent interest in Hoxton Bakehouse. How did that happen? ​

We met two lovely young bakers and decided to invest in Hoxton Bakehouse. The guys run the business and they are doing amazing with the bakery doing incredibly well. I was a baker and pastry chef previously and it’s really nice to be involved in something that I really loved and did for 15 years. There is a warehouse unit in Southampton because it is easy for links to the New Forest and Winchester. The bakery supplies Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Rick Stein.

How do you manage to juggle all of these different businesses? ​

You have got to be excited every day about getting up and going to work and I have been. I love doing what I do. I have a young family and once they are in bed at night I can carry on working. Hospitality is very flexible and I am lucky as I could be in a 9 to 5 job and not see my family. I love catering and the diversity of it and you never know what you will be doing next.

What is the secret to your success? ​

Work hard  - that is it. All you do is treat customers how you would like to be treated. Hospitality is not complicated. As long as you respect the customer and treat them with kindness. You will muck up.  I tell the staff that you will make a mistake, but don’t lie to the customer, tell them the truth and let them know if you are new and it is your second day in the job.

You were the first Punch licensee to go through the PICAS service? What was the experience of a lease like for you​?

I only ever had freehouses until I had the pub with Punch. I got the Kings Arms at Lockerley and that was a good experience.  But I will never do it again. I think there are loads of good pubcos who get it right, it’s just a couple that don’t.

What are your plans for the future? ​

I want to extend the Greyhound as there are 10 bedrooms at the moment but would like more. There is also the garden and the food offer which we have not launched yet. I want to focus on Wilds and the functions to make sure they are absolutely perfect because it is all about reputation. I have business partners who keep asking me what I want to do. I think in the future they would like to look at another pub. We are also looking at taking the Hoxton Bakehouse to a retail space in Winchester.