More than just a great pub

Judging by its success, having a pint in the John Hewitt is a very pleasant experience. However, for many, the pleasure is deepened by knowing that some of the profit on that thirst-quenching point has gone to a good cause.

The John Hewitt has forged strong links with Casa de la Cultura, an arts centre based in the Cotorro district of Havana. Last year, as a measure of this growing relationship, the arts centre received generous financial assistance to purchase equipment and refurbish its community theatre – thanks to profits generated by the pub.

One might well question the business or economic benefits of linking up projects between two very culturally diverse cities like Belfast and Havana, but the answer is quite simple. Unlike most social economy projects throughout the island, The John Hewitt is not just a local venture meeting local needs but a place very much associated with the arts and with progressive social and political debate – quite a feat in a segregated city such as Belfast which is not particularly renowned for inclusive and open debate!

And it has a growing reputation of hosting international musicians and acts and supporting international causes, prompted by its founder, Brendan Mackin, a lifelong trade unionist who has built up key international links over many years.

According to Brendan, who is also widely recognised as a founding father of the burgeoning social economy movement in the province, the original idea for the city centre pub was first hatched in the mid-1990s – and the story goes like this. One afternoon, while returning from lunch with some colleagues, Brendan stopped to view a rundown building that had been derelict for many years. Formerly occupied by the Belfast News Letter, it was located in Donegall Street, an area in the centre of the city that had suffered numerous bombings during 25 years of community and political strife.

In a moment of inspiration, Brendan turned to his colleagues and prophetically said, “That would make a great pub.” And so was planted the seed for what has become a much acclaimed pub and restaurant frequented by patrons from across the city and beyond.

Difficulties and challenges

While the vision of what was possible came, as visions usually do, without much forethought or planning, the task of developing the project with staff and board members of the parent organisation – the Belfast Unemployed Resource Centre (BURC) – was long and often arduous.

This voluntary organisation had been set up by the trade union movement to promote the interests and benefits of unemployed people and other socially and economically disadvantaged groups. Strategically, BURC had acquired previously rented premises in 1984 in Donegall Street, which at the time was displaying the characteristics of an area in physical decline and despair. Importantly, in doing so they had developed a valuable asset base consisting of three buildings with no debt attached, mainly as a result of effective fundraising and financial support from a number of UK-based charities.

In the early 1990s, when the empty News Letter building adjacent to the existing BURC premises became available for purchase, the BURC board members approached their own bank seeking finance to buy the large site for development. However, the bank politely refused!

After much deliberation, debate and research, the organisation eventually purchased one of these properties in 1994. The acquisition was achieved at the cost of £90,000 from capital reserves that had been built up during the previous decade.

BURC soon discovered that its vision to establish a new city centre pub in Belfast would be fraught with all kinds of legal and technical difficulties. This was particularly the case when it set out to obtain a license to sell alcohol. To its dismay, BURC discovered that, not only were licensing laws in Northern Ireland very complex, but acquiring a licence was a long, drawn out, expensive affair. Research had shown that virtually no new licences had been granted since the second world war!

But with a little luck, they were able to buy a pub licence for £40,000, even though it was purchased many miles away in Omagh and then had to be transferred to Belfast. And so began the murky legal process of transferring the licence to their newly acquired premises in Donegall Street. The messy process included making payments to other licence holders in the immediate vicinity who often have the power of veto in these circumstances.

In another setback, BURC had to take another publican to court who was opposed to its plans, and despite having won the court case, it still had to fork out a compensatory payment to the objector to avoid a long, drawn-out legal appeal process.

While in the end the organisation had achieved its goal of obtaining a licence, this had been at a considerable financial cost of around £100,000, depleting hard-earned capital assets. On the other hand, it was a good business transaction, given that the average rate for a licence in Belfast city centre is approximately four times the amount that BURC paid.

Enthused with the progress made, the organisation, under the direction of Brendan Mackin, set about consolidating its plans. It developed an exciting business proposal for the refurbishment of the derelict building, including transforming the ground floor into an attractive themed pub at a cost of around £380,000.

Initially, the bank refused to lend the amount requested, but it eventually agreed to an amount of £100,000, which was added to a grant of £25,000 from the Laganside Corporation. Negotiations then began with a number of the top breweries in Ireland. A deal was struck with Guinness, which agreed a preferential loan of £250,000, enabling The John Hewitt to open for business in December 1999 – the first social economy pub in Belfast!

The decision to name the pub after the famous Belfast poet John Hewitt was taken because of his cross-community appeal and local association with the arts. Also, the Belfast Unemployed Resource Centre had been opened by Hewitt, who died in 1987.

Since its opening, the pub has been an overwhelming success story with a growing reputation as a great pub. It has also disproved the cynics and the genuine reservations of those, including people within the trade union movement, whose main concern – that the pub would encourage problems associated with the abuse of alcohol and gambling through the use of fruit machines – has proved groundless.

In reality, the pub has become a popular venue, renowned for its lunchtime meals where customers can relax and enjoy ‘the craic’ – hearty Belfast discussion and banter. And by the way, those dreaded, one armed bandits are nowhere to be seen!

The evening entertainment spot, with live music six nights a week, has been growing steadily over the years. The public association with high profile festival events such as the city’s Cathedral Arts Festival, Open House Traditional Music and the Irish Congress of Trade Union Annual May Day Festival have helped to promote the pub as a major player in the Belfast arts sector.

Ironically, it was the area of festival events that led to the company terminating their contractual links with Guinness, as the brewers had objected to the John Hewitt selling non-Guinness brand beer during a city beer festival. But the decision to ‘go it alone’ proved a positive milestone as the company discovered that it could buy other beers and wine at a cheaper rate, offsetting any advantage gained by the preferential loan agreement.

The John Hewitt operates today as a free pub after the loan from Guinness was paid off through an additional bank loan, secured once the bank had become more confident that the new pub venture was shaping up as a success.

One other major achievement of the John Hewitt is that in many respects it has become a safe haven, not just for ordinary customers of all persuasions, but as a meeting place for former protagonists in the Northern Ireland conflict to engage socially in a safe, non-intimidating environment.

In financial terms, the pub has definitely been a successful business venture, generating a profit in 2005 of around £80,000, some of which has been used to support up and coming musicians or cultural events. Other beneficiaries have included such widely diverse groups as Belfast Kickboxing Club, Belfast Gay Pride Festival and a students’ exhibition at Belfast Art College.

Future plans

The company is not content to stand still and has short and long term plans and ambitions to build on its success. It aims to continue developing its reputation as a popular venue for cultural and festival activity, adding the Belfast 2006 Titanic Festival itinerary.

From an environmental perspective it has also begun a process of recycling glass, cardboard and paper as a ‘contribution to the planet’, recognising the rapid increase of international beers coming on to the market and fewer bottles being returned.

It is also investigating breaking into a new market with the potential of live theatre at The John Hewitt.

The voluntary directors of the pub believe that a social conscience should be at the heart of all their decision-making. An example of this is their decision to support the one-year boycott of all Coca Cola products in support of the Sinitral Trade Union movement in South America in protest at the company’s treatment of union workers.

Yet Brendan Mackin, while recognising the importance of supporting such boycotts on the international stage, also acknowledges that their core business is running a local pub – providing a quality service that will make profits, employ people and support other initiatives to benefit communities.

He has a desire to see the premises expand and – good news for social entrepreneurs across Belfast and beyond – he is investigating franchising the John Hewitt model out to other locations.

It is this ambition and drive that helped to establish the pub’s growing reputation to the point where, in 2005, it became the Festival Club of the prestigious Belfast Film Festival. This is a major endorsement for the John Hewitt pub and restaurant, a social economy business that defied all the odds to become an asset currently estimated to be worth around £1.5 million – not bad for a company which will be celebrating its sixth birthday this year!