Jeremy Clarkson has admitted he was 'wrong' about his new pub after being warned about how difficult it is to make money in the hospitality industry at the moment.
The former Top equipment And Great tour The host opened The Farmer's Dog in August, paying less than £1million for the property formerly known as The Windmill, in Asthall, near Burford in Oxfordshire.
The pub's popular reception reflects the success of Clarkson's Diddly Squat farm shop, which attracts tourists from across the country due to its prominence in its Amazon range. Clarkson's Farm.
However, in an article for The timesthe 64-year-old shared some of the honest experiences he had just a few months after the venue opened.
Clarkson claims that despite having been warned about the high number of pub closures in Britain, how difficult it would be to make money just by having a British menu and finding staff after Brexit, he believed that “it would all be fine would be fine.”
“I was wrong,” he says, before describing in detail an accident one of his customers had in the toilets.
“No amount of festival attendance could prepare you for the horror of what was produced at the Farmer's Dog,” Clarkson writes. “It was everywhere and in such large quantities that no ordinary plumbing or cleaning equipment could even reach the surface.”
He then admits that he had to hire “chemically trained hazmat engineers” to address the problem.
Clarkson says it is “appalling to see the effort it takes to make so little money on the farm”, adding: “It's even worse in the pub. The customers come. There's no problem. But converting their visits into profit is virtually impossible.”
Plus, Clarkson also talks about the problems he's had with the pub's Christmas tree, beer, holiday turkeys and even the “Farmers' Clubhouse” neon sign he has outside.
Despite saying that “everything is a total disaster”, he still ends on a positive note, claiming that top chef Marco Pierre White was “astounded by how good the food is”.
He concludes by saying: “And it is warm and there is a fire and the staff is friendly, young and cheerful. It's a real, traditional pub. By that I mean you'll love it, and I'll lose a fortune and develop a skin disease from the stress of running it.”
People queued outside The Farmer's Dog on the day it reopened (PA Wire)
When he first opened the pub, Clarkson said it was the next best thing after not being able to open a restaurant on his farm.
“Last year we wanted to have that restaurant on the farm but we couldn't, and pubs, they're all for sale,” he said.
“So we thought instead of building a restaurant we would buy a pub.”
Jeremy Clarkson outside his pub (PA)
Clarkson has faced opposition from locals in West Oxfordshire over the years as he tried to expand his Diddly Squat farm project.
Some residents were concerned that the cafe's existence would cause local traffic disruption as it is next to the busy A40. But Oxfordshire County Council has said it has worked closely with Clarkson and his team to reduce the risk of traffic problems ahead of the opening.
