INTERVIEW: Nick Revill, Rocket@Saltwater

As the Nottingham restaurant scene experiences an unprecedented boom, we talk to one of the mainstays of the sector, Nick Revill, general manager of Rocket@Saltwater, and ask him whether he thinks the tranche of new openings in the city is sustainable.

What’s your background?
I worked in international logistics until I decided to take a year out from the high-pressure work and fell into a bar job.

Within several months I had decided I wanted to stay in the industry. I began at Bluu in the Lace Market 15 years ago, then moved to Chino Latinos for a year before taking the food and beverages manager role for Harts Hotel and Restaurant.

I then took over as general manager for Saltwater just over 10 years ago, also running the owner’s two other bars at the time – one in Sheffield and Cast at the Playhouse.

After a while, Saltwater was taken over by Rocket Restaurants and Rocket@Saltwater was born. I made a decision to work for James Horler and his company a little over three years ago.

To what do you attribute your success?
Coming from the private sector, I approached running the bar as a business, as well as a lifetsyle. Many of the disciplines I learnt in the private sector crossed over quite well so I found it easier than some of my peers to not be so attached to the environment. It’s a very intense industry and it is easy to burn out.

I was lucky to pick four great venues to work in and had great training. I also worked for some very organised operators and owners, so direction has never been an issue. I stay focused and try to see what the consumer wants: they will ultimately be the measure of your success so it’s vital to ensure that drives part of the business.

Last but by no means least, having good people around you is incredibly important – from chefs and bar tenders to DJs and promoters. They are all part of what the success. I have tried to make sure that we offer what customers want, backing that up with a great team so that we can deliver.

Is the government helping your industry to thrive?
I think its very easy to pick holes in government and council objectives and policies. The bottom line is we live in an extremely free country and this city likes to be entertained.

Essentially, we are a very nightlife orientated people and there are numerous ideas and concepts which are in force but without policing, either officially or as a business, things will continue as they are.

The irresponsibility of some operators and venues towards levels of consumption and drugs seems poor to me but unless the current laws are enforced nothing will change. Although it may seem negative, I would state that I think the police and other local bodies, including Nottingham BID, have done a great job in this city to improve the nightlife.
The unfair press the City received years ago suggesting this was the Wild West, made our lives quite difficult and I think an awful lot has been done to make the majority of the city’s venues clean, safe and well managed. The success of our industry and the impact on our population is largely down to us, as operators.

Here in Rocket@Saltwater we a operate zero-tolerance policy on drugs, irresponsible drinking and unsociable behaviour. I like to think it’s making a difference and you can see that there are many venues operating in the same way.

It would be good to see the government pass some of the responsibility on to us, the managers.

It’s far easier to deal with a poor venue and find out what has gone wrong at a particular time rather than trying to sort it out with the general public. It may be an unpopular choice amongst my fellow managers but I stand by it. We are the ones mostly in control of this to start with so, with the correct backing of the authorities, we should be obliged to control it.

What’s the next stage of your business plan?
We will continue to operate as a premium venue with great drinks, music and food. We have been here since 2004 and have steadily held our own as a consistently great venue. We have some new offers for the midweek and will continue to have great DJs during the week and weekends.

“It’s not cheap to have so much music but we think it’s important. Good music and an enjoyable environment are essential for a great night out.

We reinvested in the outside area and now have a huge heated and covered area for the colder nights. Going into the summer, we will host our very popular music nights and parties outside.

Ensuring we still offer the very best we can and never cutting corners is definitely not going to change for 2016.

How do you assess the local restaurant scene?
Looking at the current situation objectively, the Council and companies like FHP have done an amazing job getting so many new venues into the city, be it independents or larger chain brands.

From a consumer’s point of view, we now have numerous national brands in the city, which put us firmly on the map as a destination city. Nottingham is visited by a lot of people every weekend and has a solid reputation, so new venues and lots of choice is a good thing for everyone.

If we can increase our retail presence with fresh ideas and maybe more unique outlets I think the city will be able to increase its visitors and that will see all these venues enjoying prosperous sales.

On a personal note, I think we have probably reached the critical point now. We certainly feel the next 12-18 months are going to be very competitive with so many new venues opening. We are very aware of just how many competitors we now have.

Out of office

Age? I am 48 (closely guarded secret).

Hobbies: My main interests are music, cycling, collecting trainers, taking bad photos and I also watch a lot of films.

Favourite film? My favourite film would be plural – Apocalypse Now, Blade Runner and Manhunter – I cannot decide between them I’m afraid.

Favourite book – Trinity by Leon Uris

Who you the most? An easy one. It would be my late father. He died over four years ago but still continues to inspire me.

What’s your favourite local venue (apart from Rocket@Saltwater) would be Bar 11 or Junkyard – two very different venues and two very different nights out.