The boss of Wetherspoons has spilled the secrets of why his drinks are so cheap as the chain prepares for 50 giant ‘Super Spoons’.
In an exclusive interview with The Sun, Sir Tim Martin debunked the urban myth that Wetherspoons’ booze is so cheap because it buys short-term beer that is about to run out.
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Sir Tim expressed his frustration with the myth, revealing that one of his doctors even repeated the lie to him.
Instead, the drinks boss said Wetherspoons was able to sell beer and spirits so cheaply because it bought and sold in larger quantities than anyone else.
“There’s no real secret, we sell a lot of beer.
“We have larger than average pubs and we have very long-term relationships with our beer suppliers, so they know we’re not going to buy it in three months or six months.
Read more at Wetherspoons
“Our longest contract now has 17 years to run.”
Sir Tim said he was inspired by US retail giant Walmart, which once owned Asda, which undercut its competitors because it sold more than anyone else.
“Sam Walton used to say ‘we sell three for two’, and that’s true for Wetherspoons.
“Our average sales per pub are probably well over double most pubs.”
Sir Tim said Wetherspoons takes almost all of the production of Greene King’s Ruddles beer, which is the cheapest beer the pub chain sells.
“I’ve never hung outside the brewery gate waiting for it to expire. It would be impossible.”
He also said that the myth was easily debunked when it came to spirits, which have very long lifespans.
“The cheapest spirit we sell is probably gin, Gordon’s gin. I’ve never heard of aged gin.
“They get it from a shipwreck from 300 years ago, and it’s still drinkable.”
Last year Wetherspoons made nearly £2 billion in sales from 826 pubs across the country.
How to save money at Wetherspoons
Every year, Spoons holds its Tax Equality Day to highlight the benefits of a permanently reduced tax bill for the pub industry.
It usually takes place in September, and last year it fell on Thursday, September 14.
As well as its 12-day Real Ale Festival every autumn, Wetherspoons also holds a Spring Festival.
Wetherspoons is known for its meal deals that run throughout the week.
These include Tuesday Steak Club, Thursday Curry Club and Fish Friday.
For example, a standard curry club meal with an alcoholic drink is between £8.55 and £9.19.
Outside of the deal, you’d expect to pay about a fiver more for the same meal.
You can enjoy endless drinks all day at participating Wetherspoons bars with the purchase of a hot drink.
The offer includes Tetley tea and a range of Lavazza coffees including a flat white, latte, cappuccino and Americano.
Prices start from just 99p. but they may vary depending on your location.
It has recently made a big bet on giant pubs, such as the one in Ramsgate, which can cater for up to 14,000 punters and has Britain’s largest beer garden.
Work is underway on its “Super Spoons” in Newcastle, which will include a 26-bedroom hotel and a 3,000 sq ft beer garden.
Sir Tim told The Sun he was now planning to grow Super Spoons by making the existing sites even bigger.
“We will probably expand another 40 or 50 of our pubs over the next few years, in a similar style to Ramsgate and Newcastle,” he said.
Sir Tim has set strict standards for how drinks are served across the Wetherspoons estate so customers can rest assured knowing what they are getting.
He had also marked each pub’s carpets, which have become notorious for their wild patterns.
Sir Tim said he wanted each pub to have its own carpet pattern because he “wanted pubs to be individual”.
He said: “We found this is part of the DNA of a pub. So we give it a personal identity, we put the story on the walls.
“We give a name to the individual, related to the building or the area.
“And eventually we found that we could have rugs made for us for not much extra with individual patterns.”
Sir Tim also busted another myth that Wetherspoons was named after a teacher who said he would never make it.
The boss said he was named after his teacher “who couldn’t control his classroom” as he tried to tame his rowdy players in his early days as owner.
Sir Tim said: “This is a story that got twisted and got a bit out of hand. I named it after Mr. Wetherspoon, who was a very good man, but I couldn’t control his class, because at that time I couldn’t control my players.
“I had my first pub, Martins, and when I was replacing a window that had been broken by one of my players, I thought of him.
“He never said I wasn’t going to make it or anything, and I’ve been worried that the rumors made him look a bit bad.”
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