How to Save Peeve's
by The Editor
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I was in Peeve's the other night. The excitement from Craig's announcement that they were in danger of closing seems to have quelled because there were very few people there. Perhaps this contributed to the feeling of bleakness that I got from being there. But maybe it was the half empty beer fridge or the sparse walls.
With all of the changes that Peeve's has gone through since its inception, I get the sense that they've lost their way a bit. Their beer buyer, Oscar, left recently, and now Craig is the only one who has been there since the beginning. While lots of ideas have come and gone, all of them seem to linger in some way---even the failures. With that in mind, I've decided to offer up some ideas for Craig and Peeve's that will hopefully help Peeve's carry on into the future and bring about the "sustainability" that Craig so desperately needs.
1. Find your focus- The question I'm asking here is, "What can Peeve's do that no one else can do?" I could be wrong, but if I had to guess what Craig wants Peeve's focus to be is Community. Craig has opened the doors of his pub to a number of different organizations to host various events including the Fresno Gooners and Cafe Scientifique, as well as hosting community oriented events such as Coloring for Adults and movie nights. But if someone knows nothing about Peeve's and they go to the website or walk in the door, they're not going to have any idea that this is a place designed to be the heart of the local community. Let it be known! And more importantly, make sure that every decision you are making keeps this in mind. Don't host an event if it doesn't line up to that focus. There are plenty of places downtown and in the surrounding neighborhoods that can and will host these events.
2. Clean up your menu- Peeve's has come a long way with their food. In the beginning we were promised "pub food" and instead we got a menu that changed every day. (As of the writing of this, the Peeve's website still says that the menu changes every day.) They've made their jobs a lot easier by not doing that anymore, but it's still light on the pub food and heavy on the froofy nonsense.
Let's dive in to their current menu.
Appetizers- there's three, only one of which could be considered "pub food" (the chips) and even then what pub has chips on the menu? This isn't the high school cafeteria. Give me some damn french fries, wings, or chicken strips. I'm sure you can find a way to make them local.
The other 2 appetizers are brussels sprouts and hummus. Why?
Entrees- There's 2 salads in this list (I'm including the pizza as a salad because it's topped with a bunch of veggie crap), a pot roast (which probably isn't the quickest thing to make), a grilled cheese (which may have made the "pub food" list if it weren't for the frilly persimmons), and then two items that might be considered "pub food", the burger and the hot dog. What would be the great sin in doing a pepperoni pizza? Or a grilled cheese without the saddest fruit of all time?
Dessert- Bread pudding or Cookies & Milk. The bread pudding is a "no" and $4 for cookies and milk? The profit margin there is painfully obvious.
My main point on the menu is this: keep it simple, classic, and delicious. Don't try to do too much fancy stuff. Give us something that will taste good when we're sober and amazing when we're drunk. People will eat more of it, I guarantee it.
The other plus side is that simpler food has quicker cook times. Which means people won't be waiting as long for their food. If they order some fries and the fries come out in less than 10 minutes, they'll come back and order more.
3. The beer- I know, Oscar leaving is a huge loss to Peeve's. He put Peeve's on the map when it comes to craft beer--bringing it nearly on par with Spokeasy for knowledge, selection, and quality of beer.
But Oscar's gone. So what do you do?
With Goldstein's open in Tower you already have too much competition on the craft beer front to really make noise, AND in the little bit of time since Oscar's left you've lost whatever ground you had gained. That road is closed to you now.
Don't worry, though. You don't have to compete on that front anymore. Most bars have a ton of success without trying to do that.
How many taps do you have? 10? 12? Take 1/2 to 3/4 of those and pick some good standards. They can even be local. Fill it with popular beers from Tioga Sequoia, Dustbowl, or even Sierra Nevada. People will come in knowing that they can get beers they enjoy. Use the remaining taps to cycle in some more special selections. Doing this will keep your selection local, hip, and delicious, while saving you money because you don't have to to pay someone like Oscar to spend a bunch of time making sure you always have the newest and most interesting beers.
4. Staffing- You're only open 5 days a week now, yes? Then cut down on the superfluous staff. It costs you more money to have lots of people working a few hours than it does to have a few people working more hours. In fact, you should probably only hire people who can work full time. This will save you so much money.
5. Local Market- How long has it been since the Local Market became a separate entity run by a completely different company? It's time to take Local Market out of your logo and off your website.
In fact, you should probably go through your website and take down all the stuff that doesn't apply anymore.
This is a follow up to a piece we posted a few weeks ago where we asked the question, "Is Peeve's Worth Saving?"
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With all of the changes that Peeve's has gone through since its inception, I get the sense that they've lost their way a bit. Their beer buyer, Oscar, left recently, and now Craig is the only one who has been there since the beginning. While lots of ideas have come and gone, all of them seem to linger in some way---even the failures. With that in mind, I've decided to offer up some ideas for Craig and Peeve's that will hopefully help Peeve's carry on into the future and bring about the "sustainability" that Craig so desperately needs.
1. Find your focus- The question I'm asking here is, "What can Peeve's do that no one else can do?" I could be wrong, but if I had to guess what Craig wants Peeve's focus to be is Community. Craig has opened the doors of his pub to a number of different organizations to host various events including the Fresno Gooners and Cafe Scientifique, as well as hosting community oriented events such as Coloring for Adults and movie nights. But if someone knows nothing about Peeve's and they go to the website or walk in the door, they're not going to have any idea that this is a place designed to be the heart of the local community. Let it be known! And more importantly, make sure that every decision you are making keeps this in mind. Don't host an event if it doesn't line up to that focus. There are plenty of places downtown and in the surrounding neighborhoods that can and will host these events.
2. Clean up your menu- Peeve's has come a long way with their food. In the beginning we were promised "pub food" and instead we got a menu that changed every day. (As of the writing of this, the Peeve's website still says that the menu changes every day.) They've made their jobs a lot easier by not doing that anymore, but it's still light on the pub food and heavy on the froofy nonsense.
Let's dive in to their current menu.
Appetizers- there's three, only one of which could be considered "pub food" (the chips) and even then what pub has chips on the menu? This isn't the high school cafeteria. Give me some damn french fries, wings, or chicken strips. I'm sure you can find a way to make them local.
The other 2 appetizers are brussels sprouts and hummus. Why?
Entrees- There's 2 salads in this list (I'm including the pizza as a salad because it's topped with a bunch of veggie crap), a pot roast (which probably isn't the quickest thing to make), a grilled cheese (which may have made the "pub food" list if it weren't for the frilly persimmons), and then two items that might be considered "pub food", the burger and the hot dog. What would be the great sin in doing a pepperoni pizza? Or a grilled cheese without the saddest fruit of all time?
Dessert- Bread pudding or Cookies & Milk. The bread pudding is a "no" and $4 for cookies and milk? The profit margin there is painfully obvious.
My main point on the menu is this: keep it simple, classic, and delicious. Don't try to do too much fancy stuff. Give us something that will taste good when we're sober and amazing when we're drunk. People will eat more of it, I guarantee it.
The other plus side is that simpler food has quicker cook times. Which means people won't be waiting as long for their food. If they order some fries and the fries come out in less than 10 minutes, they'll come back and order more.
3. The beer- I know, Oscar leaving is a huge loss to Peeve's. He put Peeve's on the map when it comes to craft beer--bringing it nearly on par with Spokeasy for knowledge, selection, and quality of beer.
But Oscar's gone. So what do you do?
With Goldstein's open in Tower you already have too much competition on the craft beer front to really make noise, AND in the little bit of time since Oscar's left you've lost whatever ground you had gained. That road is closed to you now.
Don't worry, though. You don't have to compete on that front anymore. Most bars have a ton of success without trying to do that.
How many taps do you have? 10? 12? Take 1/2 to 3/4 of those and pick some good standards. They can even be local. Fill it with popular beers from Tioga Sequoia, Dustbowl, or even Sierra Nevada. People will come in knowing that they can get beers they enjoy. Use the remaining taps to cycle in some more special selections. Doing this will keep your selection local, hip, and delicious, while saving you money because you don't have to to pay someone like Oscar to spend a bunch of time making sure you always have the newest and most interesting beers.
4. Staffing- You're only open 5 days a week now, yes? Then cut down on the superfluous staff. It costs you more money to have lots of people working a few hours than it does to have a few people working more hours. In fact, you should probably only hire people who can work full time. This will save you so much money.
5. Local Market- How long has it been since the Local Market became a separate entity run by a completely different company? It's time to take Local Market out of your logo and off your website.
In fact, you should probably go through your website and take down all the stuff that doesn't apply anymore.
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