Creating the Ultimate Country Pub Experience with Peter Goss Joinery

The Thatched Tavern, a country pub in Maidencombe, Devon, commissioned Fruition Design for their pub refurbishment. We looked for an experienced joinery contractor to help us with the refurbishment project, and our first choice was Peter Goss Joinery. This blog explain how local joiner Peter Goss helped us to create the ultimate Devon country pub experience at The Thatched Tavern in Maidencombe.

What was your greatest challenge working on The Thatched Tavern pub refurbishment?

In terms of joinery for a pub refurbishment project, I think the circumstances of the fire really hit home. Seeing the pub in the state it was — and then trying to visualise where it was going to be at the end of the refurbishment. The first site visit was a bit of a shock to see the state the pub was in, because I know the pub quite well from my younger days.

That’s where Mark Green at Fruition took hold of it and turned it into a picture – one that all of us could see and realise.  It was a challenge to see how we were going to transform the pub into what Mark was envisaging.

Seeing the project plan and building programme of works was inspiring, and once you actually got your teeth into the pub refurbishment — it was great. The changes were remarkable, and the pub was transformed in a matter of months, especially with real wood panelling and beautiful banquette seating that tied back to the initial idea perfectly.

The clients just needed to get the pub up and running – and to make it look beautiful in the end. Pulling all those pieces together was great, and a real testament to Mark and the team at Fruition for their design and project leadership.

What was your greatest success during this pub refurbishment?

We wanted to fulfil the brief and deliver exactly what Fruition was looking for. Working on a well-managed project really ticked all the boxes for me and my team of joiners, because it’s all very well having a visual of what it should look like — but you also need the nitty-gritty detail as well and Fruition gave that to us.  We hit all the nails on the head, and delivered exactly to specification, in part because it was set out so clearly. 

Why is the Thatched Tavern pub refurbishment project different to other projects you’ve worked on?

The Thatched Tavern pub refurbishment project is quite personal to me, because I have been there for quite a few meals, and I know the pub well. Taking it on as a joinery project was great for me personally, because me and my crew of joiners wanted the project to be a success. 

Delivering a pub refurbishment to be proud of

I think the difference is my personal interest in the pub, as local refurbishment contractors and suppliers. Me, my family, and the members of my joinery crew will be going back to The Thatched Tavern for years to come; and we want to take friends and family to the tavern and be proud of it. That’s the difference – we’ve helped to create the ultimate country pub experience and we want to share it with the people we love.

How do you measure “a job well done” in joinery?

As refurbishment contractors and expert joiners, our measure of success is the feedback from everybody involved – the clients, our designers and commissioners, project managers, and importantly, the other contractors that work on the project alongside us. We want that feedback and rapport as we work together. Many of us have worked on refurbishment projects together in the past and have a deep appreciation and respect for all the other trades and contractors. 

How does the Thatched Tavern project measure up to that expectation?

We hit the targets and the dates that were specified in the project plan, and although I’m sure there was delays within the project, they didn’t affect our work, and we delivered on all our dates. That’s our main concern as joiners.

When it all comes together at the end of the project, we’ve been able to say that we delivered the pub refurbishment on time and on budget. When we saw everything finished, all of us where saying ‘Wow, this is great.’  The end result is the ultimate Devon country pub experience, which is exactly what Mark, and his client were visualising at the very start.

Peter Goss, Founder, Peter Goss Master Joinery

A well-managed project

It’s not purely about the feedback; the project overall was stress free because all the moving parts were working together seamlessly. You didn’t have problem phone calls or worries that you were not going to deliver on time or on budget – the opposite – you’re going to have fun. Mark and the team at Fruition made sure that the Thatched Tavern pub refurbishment was running as smoothly as possible and keeping every detail in order, and constantly staying connected with my team. The Thatched Tavern pub refurb project was flawless from our point of view.

Restaurant refurbishment is what we do

“As someone who has worked on many restaurant refurbishments, the Thatched Tavern restaurant refurbishment has been the most memorable for me. The reason for this is not only the beautiful end result but also the incredible communication and planning involved. The team at Fruition provided us with a straight forward brief, which allowed my team and I to deliver exactly what they wanted. It was so rewarding to be able to bring the customers’ vision to life and go above and beyond their expectations. This project was a shining example of how important it is to have effective communication in order to achieve an exceptional result in restaurant refurbishment.”

How do feel about working with Mark and the team from Fruition?  

Honestly, it was great. When you work with a high-quality designer, it’s not just about the drawings, it’s about the approach, the style, and the details. Some people don’t care about that – maybe they just want a functional room. The real difference is that Mark and the team from Fruition want to create a great customer experience from their pub and restaurant refurbishments. 

It’s about every fine detail and how each vignette is created in the mind of the customer – Fruition really gets that.

Peter Goss, Founder, Peter Goss Master Joinery

The customer experience is at the heart of each pub transformation

The dedication to create spaces for local people to enjoy is very personal, even for a commercial project. Fruition listened to how their clients envisaged how the pub would come to life, and really went to town with all the fine details in their plans. As joiners, it was obvious that Fruition spent a lot of time with their clients, listening and learning, to find out exactly how the client wanted the pub to look and feel. That feeling and that attention to detail fed through like a golden thread throughout the entire project – and although that is really hard to achieve in practice, Fruition delivered. 

Working on a well-managed project within a wider team 

Having a high-quality, local team is great – the decorators, electricians and plumbers know each other so it works really well to deliver a hospitality interior to exacting specifications. 

How do you feel about the design of the project?

I really liked the way the design elements complement each other; the styling and the deep, rich colours Mark used in the design. 

You never know how darker colours are going to work — and because the restaurant dining room is such a light room, it’s worked really well.

How do you feel about the value of the project – the value and durability of the materials, what it means to Maidencombe and to Torbay?

We used only high specification, high quality materials. All hardwood sash and all the finishes are harder wearing for commercial use. The upholstery was hard-wearing as well, with fire-rated fabric. These materials support the vision of the ultimate Devon country pub experience, because they will last a lot longer.

Tell us about the quality of the joinery work

We used solid ash framework for all the banquette seating. All the bar and restaurant panelling was a tulip wood frame, painted off-site and brought in. The paint finishes were quite important, and we spent quite a bit of time on site, finishing the fine details. There’s a lot of panels!  The quality element of the paint and the finishing were a real joy to work with. With 100% hardwood, we delivered a real good high quality pub refurbishment project.

How do you feel about the value of this pub refurb project to the local community?

The Thatched Tavern has always been a very popular pub. For it to be refurbished and transformed to meet the client’s vision, and to have Fruition breathe everything into life, is paying dividends for the local community in Maidencombe. The clients are fully invested and so proud because the pub is genuinely their vision made into reality.

It’s priceless to know that having a pub that is reliable and having somewhere really nice to spend your time. It’s such a lovely spot in Devon.

What about this project delivers joy in the customer experience?

You want customers to come into the premises, so you want the relaxed feeling that this transformed pub delivers. Relaxing, feeling comfortable and knowing they’ve made an effort – they’ve done that bit extra to make the pub a more welcoming, comfortable environment, and created a wonderful pub experience for customers.