Price: 'positivity and kindness show strength, not weakness'

The Morning Advertiser​ recently caught up with the hospitality stalwart and one thing was clear, he could not be more enthralled with the industry and his passion for people has made Barons the prosperous business it is today.

Starting his hospitality journey at the age of 16 as kitchen porter at Thorpe Park, in Chesterton, Surrey, Price quickly progressed to a chef position, and “fell in love with the kitchen environment”.

“We used to jump on my Honda Melody moped and head off there.

“It was my first job and I didn't really know what I was going to, but they put me in catering at the main Dome and I started off as a kitchen porter for a couple of weeks on £1.88 an hour.

“After a few weeks they asked me if I wanted to be a chef, so I started doing that, which was fantastic, I just loved it. By the end of that season I was earning £5 an hour, so I thought it was a millionaire.”

Following this, he also worked at the theme park’s al-a-carte restaurant, the Henley Rooms, which served the site’s directors and visitors, as well as continuing to service its fast-food area.

“I was the first one to clock in every morning and the last one to leave. I just really enjoyed it; it was a great contrast there.”

While at Thorpe Park, Price struck a close friendship with another chef he had been working alongside, who he then followed to other restaurants over the next few years in Wimbledon and Clapham.

Having learnt the back of house side of the trade, he then went on to study catering management and economics at Oxford Brookes University while working at the Eastgate Hotel to fund his studies.

Great values and standards 

By the early 90’s, Price had graduated from university and began working at Pizza Hut, in Ealing Broadway, which he described as “mega” at the time.

“The restaurant was by the cinema and Pizza Hut were knocking it out of the park, it was an amazing place for the buffets, which were a new concept at the time.

“The place was so busy, there were hundreds of people coming through the door, so I learnt some really good systems and procedures with them; that definitely taught me a bit about well-planned business and ways of doing things.”

Price then relocated to Southampton for a short while to work with Aramark contract caterers before moving back to Surrey a year later to work for Blue Beckers, which inspired the concept behind Barons Pub Company.

“They did family dining exceptionally well in and around the Surrey area, they had about 10 restaurants at the time and that's sort of what we've replicated with Barons; great values and great standards.”

The new millennium then brought new opportunities for Price, who went on to form Barons Pub Company in 2000 with a restaurant in Cranleigh, Surrey.

However, the managing director quickly found running your own business is “not easy”, having gone from the “hugely successful and busy” Blue Beckers in Chobham to “lots of quiet days”.

“I used to walk up and down the high street seeing what all the other restaurants were doing and they were all doing the same.

“A couple of years later, in 2002, we got the Star at Leatherhead, and that was our first break into pub restaurants.”

While the pub world was “such a contrast” to the “little restaurant in Cranleigh”, the timing of taking on the Star was perfect, Price explained.

“Quite often in business the things that are out of your control are the hardest."

“The pub element kept the till ringing over with people just coming in for a drink and then on the food side, people appreciated the quality.

“We were doing restaurant quality in the pub environment and exceeding people's expectations with that.”

Since then, Barons has gone on to win multiple accolades and open some 10 sites across Surrey as well as expanding into pubs with rooms.

However, looking back at the past two decades, the managing director said while he has no regrets, he would opt to have taken on more freehold sites sooner if he started Barons again.

“We’ve got lease holds with Greene King and Shepheard Neame, and they are fantastic; it's meant we've worked with some great people along the way.
“But that would probably be the one thing [I’d do differently], try and bag a few of those freehold sites a bit sooner because that really helped the overall value of the company and the balance sheet.”

Though one thing Price explained had helped keep his career path on a “very logical” track was writing everything down before he started Barons, from the company structure to its values.

“That's given me a really good clear view all the way through and has helped make decisions along the way.
“If you looked at that from back then, it would be pretty similar to what we've achieved.”

Having that clear structure has also been crucial for Price to deal with things that have been out of his control, such as during the pandemic.

All about people 

“Quite often in business the things that are out of your control are the hardest.

“The way we dealt with [the pandemic] was to first work out the finances, and the bank were excellent in helping us deal with that, but also then operationally thinking about the teams and what the customers were going to want when we reopened.

“We had to make sure when we came back the service was great and the customers and teams were well looked after as well to make sure what we were doing was as good as possible.”

Being responsible for so many people and wanting to do well for them, Price continued, was also where the main pressure points of his role as managing director of Barons are, particularly in the face of cost pressures.

“We employ just under 500 people and that's a lot of people to look after and make sure everyone's happy and their wellbeing is good, [especially when cash flow is tight].
“When I was at university, one of my tutors very early on in one of our lectures said ‘cash flow is the lifeblood of the business and without it you're in trouble’.

“You can have the best car in the car park but without any fuel to drive it, you're not going anywhere, and it is true in business when that flow of money comes and goes.”

While looking after people at all corners of the business can weigh heavy, for Price the people are also the best thing about working in the industry.

“It's all about people all day long, it’s our business. Whether it's customers, suppliers, staff, colleagues, acquaintances.
“Hospitality is a business that's never dull because you're constantly interacting with people.

“We can create great memories for people and great occasions, we can turn even the simplest of things, two people having a drink together for half an hour, into the highlight of someone's day, we get that opportunity every day.”

Making sure you have the right people around you is imperative, Price detailed, not just professionally but also personally.

Not only does this help keep you grounded and balanced when making decisions but can help you through difficult times.

Price knows this arguably more than most, after he and his wife Lisa tragically lost their 21-year-old daughter Molly last year following a long struggle with her mental health.

“It was a hugely difficult time. [Losing Molly] obviously had a massive impact on everyone and we're still working through that, but I just couldn't have had better support from family and friends and all my colleagues at work.
“I'm surrounded by great people. My senior team and I have all worked together for a long time so have a good friendship as well as a good professional relationship. I feel really lucky they're there.

“There are moments where, as the figurehead, you've got decisions that only you can make, but if there’s problems or issues these things are better discussed and out in the open.”

For Price, being a good figurehead comes down to having good values personally and professionally as well as recognising the “power of positivity”.

“Having a positive outlook is key. We put on a show every day in the hospitality industry, you can't do that if you're down or your shoulders are sloping.

“Being fair and kind is also crucial and much underrated. Sometimes people look at kindness as weakness, but I think the absolute opposite, it is a real strength.”

"I am becoming more and more interested in politics because it affects everything the business does."

While the managing director said you are “never truly off duty” in leadership roles, especially within hospitality, keeping some balance was key to turning up enthusiastic every day.

“I spend a lot of time with my family and walking the dogs. We've got a 7-month-old Springer Spaniel and a seven-year-old cockapoo.
“Having a good family network and group of friends, always engaging with people and socialising, is important, but also finding time to relax and keep yourself fresh.

“I also like reading about the industry. I am becoming more and more interested in politics because it affects everything the business does.”

The main thing that surprised Price so far in his role, has been how “broad” the topics are he has had to deal with as well as the level of detail and the number of moving parts pubs rely on.

“Whether it's compliance and technology or menus or crockery or training or what's going to happen in the summer; there's just such a breadth of subjects [to focus on], it's fantastic because it makes things endlessly fascinating and interesting.
“Customer’s must sometimes think why isn't it simple, all I want is a drink in my hand and a plate of food in front of me. But there’s an awful lot of moving parts to get to that point.”

This is another reason writing everything down from the start has been for Price, and it would be his main piece of advice to other publicans looking to expand in a similar way to Baron’s and maintain quality.

Amazing recognition 

“It helps everyone understand there is a standard and [they need to] meet that standard as best as possible.

“You need to have a policy and procedure for everything so there's always something to draw back onto.

“That way you get people working to the company standard not just to their own standard, because if you try and run a business with everyone working to their own standards, it's pretty chaotic.”

Another thing Price advised, was to the think about who would monitor those standards as you expand.
“You can't go around and serve every customer and cook every meal and be there for everyone. You need a different way of addressing how things are done and asking are we good enough at this and test it and measure it.”

The hard work to ensure consistency and quality has paid off for Barons, which was crowned Best Pub Employer (up to 500 employees) and Best Pub Operations Team at last year’s Publican Awards and is a finalist in both categories this year.

“To get that sort of recognition from the trade is amazing. That's not what you do your job for day after day, but to get that recognition has been really great. It's an accolade for the whole team and the whole business.”