New vision for a vintage venue

After nearly 40 years in business, the Patterson family has spent £500,000 to bring its flagship Hillsborough venue right up to date and introduce the village to a whole new concept in casual pub dining.

This summer has seen the Patterson family in Hillsborough take the next step in the development of the iconic Plough Group of bars and restaurants with the unveiling of The Vintage Rooms in Hillsborough.

Representing an investment of £500,000 by brothers William, Richard and Derek Patterson and creating 15 new full-time positions, The Vintage Rooms – which opened in July – are situated on the spot formerly occupied by Bar Retro at The Plough Inn.

Designed by Derek himself, the new facilities mark an exciting new direction in the development of the Plough Group’s portfolio, which includes The Bistro and Simply Seafood; The Pheasant, Annahilt and The Tannery in Moira.

Among the key features on offer at the Vintage Rooms are a Spirit and Wine Library and a Whiskey Cellar where guests can enjoy a global selection of wines, spirits and cocktails in an intimate setting. They also have the opportunity to buy their drinks by-the-bottle and store their purchases in special lockers at the venue until their next visit.

But the drinks offering is only one element of the experience at the new Hillsborough venue.

“We’ve brought a whole new concept to Hillsborough’s thriving pub scene with a day-time deli and café that offers to-go and dine-in food, afternoon teas and a new, small-plate offering which re-thinks how we can socialise without having to go for the full dining experience,” says Derek. “You can graze at your own speed, choose one plate or 10!”

The project has been in development for some time. Work began on site in February and was completed in June. Around 75 per cent of the Plough was affected by the renovations and Derek admits that bringing the scheme to a successful conclusion was “a real challenge”:

“I led the design myself, but I had a great team of tradespeople behind me who worked with me, so change wasn’t the issue. Getting it right was our most important objective and my partners trusted in my vision. The entire management front and back of house have been positive, supportive and very passionate about the new offering,” says Derek.

“Why did we choose now to change Bar Retro? Well, sometimes the time is just right for change. This had been a great brand for 12 years, including two re-fits, but because of its modern design, it was just time to move on from it.”

Derek believes that pubs catering to customers in the 21 to 35-years age group should aim to be fashionable and trendy if they want to attract the lucrative young professional audience. Clubs are in decline he says, but while pubs with quality drinks and service are also in the minority, they are sought after by the consumer.

“We recognised that customers are busier than ever these days and they don’t always have the time to sit down in a restaurant and enjoy lunch,” he adds. “So the new offering at the Vintage Rooms will feature lots of delicious take-away options from our new deli, including salads, wraps and sandwiches made with the same type of quality ingredients that The Plough has become famous for.

“We’re really expecting to see a big increase in our afternoon custom as a result of this new approach.”

The idea of designing the new venue held no fear for Derek either – he’s been responsible for interior design within the Plough Group since a fire caused widespread damage at The Plough about 18 years ago.

“The insurance would not pay for a re-design and re-fit, they would only pay to put it back the way that it was,” he recalls. “I felt that if we simply put it back the way it was, people just wouldn’t stay, we had to update the place, so I ended up getting into interior design by default.

“We did Bar Retro and it won a number of awards, which gave me the confidence to go ahead and do The Tannery myself as well and I think the success of these venues speaks for itself.”

Lots of new elements are to be added to the offering at The Vintage Rooms over the next few months, including wine and cheese tasting nights, cocktail masterclasses, cookery demonstrations and a Gourmet Club.

“The Vintage Rooms provides a one-stop shop for a great night out and we envisage it becoming a real social hub for Hillsborough,” adds Derek. “And in terms of our own expectations, we feel very confident that we are taking the business to where it needs to be in modern times.”

With that in mind, Derek reveals that his next project will be a re-fit at The Tannery, a successful steakhouse operation that the group owns in Moira. He wants to create some potential wedding space there and he is planning to introduce some exciting new methods of cooking.

To that end, he’ll be spending a lot of time this summer with South American chef, Andre Lima de Luca, who is world-famous for his mastery of barbecue cooking. The pair will do The Big Grill Festival in Dublin this August and visit Meatopia in London during September as Derek learns as much as he can about cooking with meat over fire.

“I still have a real passion for this, I am still fascinated by food and everything associated with it,” he says. “It’s always challenging, there’s ever a time not to be more progressive and there are always people willing to share their professionalism with you. It’s a wonderful industry to be in and I particularly love to see young people working their up in the ranks in our business. To see them develop themselves like that is so rewarding.”