How the restored Cross Keys Inn is the hub of their community again

After taking ownership of the Cross Keys Inn in January 2023, and Vicki and Rory immediately embarked on a major renovation and refurbishment project to transform the whole inn – bar and dining area, bedrooms and beer garden.

Vicki told us how Rory had grown up in Ettrickbridge and had very fond memories of how the Cross Keys Inn had always been an integral part of the local community.

“We knew there was a great potential for it to be that again, not just for locals but also for guests from further afield.

“To achieve that and bring the Cross Keys Inn back to its former glory, we knew it needed a complete overhaul and a complete repositioning.”

The pub becoming a sustainable centre for village life

Prior to opening Vicki held a consultation in the village parish hall for locals to talk about their ideas and for them to have their say on what they’d like to see from their revitalised local pub.

“This conversation is on-going and we’re always listening to what our locals would like in terms of menus, drinks, and special nights – they know we can’t always agree to every request – but we do try within the parameters of the business operations! This has led to a community-led events programme eg monthly pub quiz, ladies coffee morning, darts tournaments, and live music sessions.”

Supporting local food producers and suppliers

“It’s our aim to serve really good traditional pub food – nothing too fine-dining, just wonderfully tasty, classic plates of food that use locally-sourced producers. We’re also acutely aware of pricing, ensuring that this stays fair and competitive, particularly as we are reliant on locals coming in to eat regularly.”

“Our food is made fresh on the premises, allowing for all dietary requirements and reducing waste, using local producers including J A Waters Butchers (Selkirk), Tweed Valley Venison, Ross Dougal Fishmongers (Eyemouth), Over Langshaw Farmhouse Ice Cream (Galashiels) and Three Hills Coffee (Selkirk).

“We take pride in supporting local drinks producers - Tempest Brewing Co (12 miles) is our lead drinks partner, with Thistly Cross Cider (50 miles) also on tap. On cask, we source from Durty Brewing (25 miles), Stow Brewery (22 miles) and Born Brewery (18 miles). Local stocked spirits include Selkirk Gin (6 miles), Wildfire Gin (22 miles) and Puffing Billy Steam Vodka (20 miles).”

”We’re also acutely aware of pricing, ensuring that this stays fair and competitive, particularly as we are reliant on locals coming in to eat regularly.”

Use social media effectively

The team use their website and social media channels as a shop-front to help tell more of the story of the business and its community focus. “It’s not always easy though as time often does run away from us!

“We worked closely with a marketing agency to develop the website, ensuring that our website was search engine optimised. We wanted to give a good flavour of what we do and what there is for visitors to enjoy in the surrounding area. It’s the best channel for us in terms of driving accommodation bookings.”

They also keep it regularly updated with news, blogs, and new menus to make sure content is refreshed.  

“Social media keeps our local community informed about all our different events and special nights – it’s definitely more of a local marketing tool. And it’s the posts that feature food, people, and the glorious scenery in our area, that get the most engagement!”

Enjoy the benefits of booking systems

Vicki explained that using booking engines for both accommodation and restaurant bookings is key to operations.

“Without any shadow of a doubt our booking engines are the mainstay of our business. Approximately 75% of our bookings come through booking engines. We use Little Hotelier for accommodation bookings and Dojo for table reservations.

“Not only do these allow guests to book online whenever it suits them, it saves the team a huge amount of time manually taking bookings, organising tables etc.

“They also allow us to operate our business in real time – for example, we plan the Kitchen and Front of House rotas based on table reservations, so we can adapt and change rotas and food orders on a day-by-day basis which helps with efficiencies, training needs and staff costs. And our Housekeeping Team all use the Little Hotelier app to track room bookings, changeovers, and special guest requests.”

Embrace being part of your community

“Be true to yourself and what you want the business to become and stick to that vision. And be a genuine friend of your community, know their names, their children’s names, their pet’s names, their favourite drink, their birthday!

“If you get it right for your locals, they become a natural extension of your team – and all your other guests will love it too.”