Introducing David Yip – General Manager at Masons Arms, Strawberry Bank

Tell us a bit about your journey

I started at Queens Head, Troutbeck, a few months after the pub reopened from the fire. I joined Sam and the team there as a Duty Manager but quickly promoted to Assistant Manager. After about a year I left Robinsons to take a promotion to the role of General Manager at a South Lakes pub. I spent some time there and after lockdown Sam had approached me to go back to work there. At the time Sam was also running  Queens Head Hawkshead, so I initially started back looking after things in Troutbeck before moving across the Hawkshead whilst Sam had to take some time out of the business. When Sam returned I moved back across to Queens Head Troutbeck to support her as her number two.

How did it feel going from running your own pub to being a second again?

It didn’t really bother me to be honest. I think its more about the company that you’re with than anything. I just felt settled within Robinsons, because they just do things right. So I didn’t see it as taking a step back, it felt comfortable. At that time my personal circumstances had also changed and I was also caring full time for my father in between working hours, and Robinsons allowed me to take that time back and reduce my hours slightly. This worked well for me in my assistant role as I could manage juggling the two. Once things changed at home earlier this year, I was a bit more flexible and wanted to step back up to become a General Manager again. At the time there were no positions that I knew of at Robinsons, but Robinsons then told me about this pub needing a new GM. I took on the full time role at the end of January as designate GM, and accepted the role officially last week.

So what’s your journey been like since taking on Masons Arms?

I took on the pub initially for three months to get it running effectively again and for us both to check that I fitted the pub nicely. Time has flown by and only last week was my final interview for the role. I had created and had to present a PowerPoint – which I’ve never done in my life.

I love being here. I’ve been a visitor and guest of this place for over 30 years. So when I heard it was up for grabs, I jumped at the chance. The last few months has been busy, I’ve been working to build relationships with locals and bring them back to the pub. This place has notoriously had such a massive following, the amount of summer nights where I’d been here and you couldn’t move for it being so busy on this terrace. But, we’re getting back on track, we’re getting back to that. We’re getting comments like ‘back to the way it used to be’, I wanted the challenge and to give the pub the love it deserves.

We get such a varied clientele here. We are surrounded by campsites, we’ve got the big hotels of the Lakes and we get people from all over the world visiting. From local residents in surrounding villages and towns popping in for lunch or mid-morning coffee to tourists passing by on their travels.

What’s the biggest challenge you’ve come across at this pub?

I’d say it’s the staffing at the moment. Because of where we are, there is no public transport so unless you drive, you can’t get here. There isn’t the local community here either, where you can rely on the students returning home during the holidays. In the last six months I’ve managed to recruit three people, but they’re all who have worked with me in previous places and know the way I work. I’m tough but fair, but I work, and if I’m working my backside off, so are they. We’ve increased our trade since being here, but with a very small team, and that’s really credit to my team. They’re grafters.

What was your journey into hospitality?

I’ve always enjoyed hospitality. I started off when I was as a Chef at 15, and worked as a Chef for 20 years of my career. I started as a Commis chef and had worked my way up to Head Chef by 22. I just always enjoyed seeing the customer angle in either the kitchen or front of house. I like to be part of someone’s celebration, it’s nice to know they’ve enjoyed it and you’re helping make their experience special. From menu planning, doing a function in the kitchen or running weddings, I’ve always enjoyed these things.

After cheffing, I lived in Gran Canaria for 7 years and managed a crazy busy bar. Infact, I think if I didn’t do that job, I wouldn’t be able to do this one. I think handling drunken tourists every night of the week prepared me for anything. Especially with the language barrier, gosh, the stories I could tell you. When I came back to England 7 years later, I decided to stay Front of House rather than go back to being in the kitchens.

I think having this experience really helps me in building relationships with the team, because I’ve been there and done that. I’ve done the jobs that they’re doing and also, they know they can’t pull the wool over my eyes!

What brought you back to Robinsons?

They invest, not only in their incredible pubs for their customer journey, but they also invest in their people, through their training pathways. They do what they say they will. It’s refreshing. Most of my career has been in places where you get told one thing, but then good performance isn’t really recognised, but that’s not the case here. I guess that also shows through me stepping away from GM roles at other places and to work as an Assistant Manager again at Robinsons. After the experience I’d had in other places, I knew that what I can expect at Robinsons is different.

It’s a big commitment to take on a pub, the staff and all the difficulties that go with it. You’ve got to enjoy it. People say about nursing and jobs like that being a vocation, but hospitality is a vocation. Its not for everybody. I’m one of five kids but the only one that works in hospitality, they say they couldn’t do your job. But I have to say, Gran Canaria certainly helped my diplomacy skills, when you get yelled at in six languages, you learn to reason with everyone!

It's great to see the pub looking so lovely and we’re so pleased to have you here running the fort…

I think we’re getting the place to where it should be! The team have pride in the pub. When I walked in and came for a reccy with Simon six months ago, I could identify so much that needed love and attention, and as a team we’ve worked on things and we’re in a different place now, six months on.