Molson Coors is a key partner of the SLTA and works with members to help them manage the beer and cider category as well as providing a range of added-value support. Here, Louise Olivarius, general manager of Firebird in Glasgow’s Finnieston, explains how the company has worked with her business
FIREBIRD, located in the busy Finnieston area of Glasgow, has been serving up its trademark pizza since 1998 and was one of the first restaurants to open on that strip of Argyle Street.
For Louise Olivarius, who manages Firebird with head chef Chris, her husband, one of the biggest challenges is keeping pace with what’s new in the market and ensuring that the restaurant – established by Derrick Sutherland in 1998 – remains fresh and exciting in order to attract new customers and retain existing ones.
“Firebird has been here for a long time and was probably the original restaurant on the Finnieston strip before anything else and it’s been going strong since then,” she says. “The focus for Firebird was primarily on its wood-fired oven and pizzas – amazing sourdough pizzas and obviously a lot of other Mediterranean dishes that we do as well.
“We’ve replaced our oven as part of our recent refurbishment with the help of Molson Coors to retain that legacy of the original Firebird,” she continues. “The restaurant is going strong but obviously the area has changed a lot, especially in the last four years with The Hydro being built and now we are very much a pre-gig venue which we weren’t before.
“Our focus is very much on families – a big family restaurant with a lot of focus on clean, non-fussy cooking – but we also have a great range of beers as we have a wide range of customers, ranging from students who are 18-19 years to families, of course, plus we have a lot of older couples coming in and people who have been coming here for 20 years.”
Louise, who has been at Firebird for six years now, has worked hard at adding value to the premises given the increase in local competition and the fact that Finnieston has become much more popular post-Hydro. She admits that while it is well-established in the area it is still hard, “especially mid-week and some weekends when you think you are going to be mobbed but you are not”.
Business can often be quite unpredictable, she points out. “Obviously being in the location we are in competition is flying whereas it wasn’t before, so we have had to really up our game to compete with all these new, shiny restaurants that have popped up on our doorstep.”
That’s one of the reasons Louise and Chris decided to get closer to Molson Coors. “The refurbishment is designed to take Firebird back up to meet the expectations of customers,” says Louise. “We’ve tried to freshen the look because we did feel it was getting a bit tired and on a daily basis we are fighting for business with our competitors on the same street.”
When it comes to the pub side of the business Louise believes drinkers are looking for choice, a good range and knowledgeable staff. “I think they want their beer to be poured properly, it’s got to be clean,” she points out. “Whenever we have something that’s a bit different from the pub next door and the one next door to that then that always makes a big difference.
“Our USP has always been to try to be known as the first to get something new or to be a little bit different.”
Firebird worked with Molson Coors to help choose its range of 11 craft beers with Louise crediting Derrick Sutherland for his forward-thinking approach to the category. “Molson Coors helped us decide which products we would take based on customer tastes.”
Louise goes on: “Sharp’s Pilsner goes down really well and customers really like it because again it’s a little bit different, and we are actually relatively surprised in the uptake of Coors Light which is a brand that has reinvented itself and is popular among our customers – being our only 4% is probably a big part of that.
“Staropramen is our most premium beer and people really enjoy it and Blue Moon is selling really well – Franciscan Well Chieftain IPA is amazing, really different, really tasty.
“I find my customers don’t mind paying a little bit more for something that’s a bit different.”
Louise agrees that it is important for relationships with partners and suppliers to offer a wide range of products. “That is key and the support Molson Coors has given us so far has been outstanding.”
She refers to the training provided by Jules Bone, beer sommelier at Molson Coors, who has worked with Firebird to help educate staff about different beer styles along with food and drink matching. “This has been really invaluable because when we got the brands in we didn’t really know how to sell these,” says Louise.
“The staff have the confidence to suggest something different and they can talk to people about beer and to have someone so skilled on hand to offer support is great,” she continues. “Being food-led we can see that staff are much more confident about making suggestions about which beer to have with food and our beer sales have been great since we got the Molson Coors brands in.
“The financial support from Molson Coors has also helped us to really reinvent the look. We’ve had some of our best weeks since we reopened and knowing you are on the end of a phone at any time is reassuring.”