Macgochans in Tobermory has just re-opened and boss Neil Morrison is delighted. He was due to reopen the venue, which burned down last May, at the end of March – but COVID-19 put paid to that. Today Macgochans looks glorious and customers have flocked back. Neil told DRAM, “Before we were trying to be all things to all people but we have been able to reset with the new build. The bar and restaurant is now split into two distinct areas. On the left-hand side – upstairs and down there is the restaurant and on the right side is the pub. We have used all the available space and have an extensive balcony too. Our capacity is now at 580 which makes us the biggest bar and restaurant on the west coast.”
The new-look Macgochans was designed by Dominic Paul. Says Neil, “My brief to Dominic was to create a pub which had an old-style New Yorkish feel – all leather and wood which would fit with whisky and smoking (if it was allowed). We have used a lot of copper and brass but we also thought about how we could keep it clean so we have used materials which are more manageable than the rough wood which was in situ before. It’s aimed more at our locals and I wanted it to feel welcoming and comfortable”
Neil continues, “I think Dominic may have also taken the American feel over into the restaurant.” Certainly, the restaurant has more of a New Hampshire feel. Its very light and airy with duck egg blue panelling and rich ochre leather booths – it’s open to the rafters with mirrors which reflect the light and has an unusual wooden floor. It also leads out to the new balcony which gives a fabulous view over Tobermory.
Says Neil, “The beauty of having something so big is that it is easier to social distance. I’ve only lost eight tables out of the restaurant everything else is back to back and now that we have so much outside place – we have also re-done the beer garden – we are almost doing the numbers I would have expected to do if it had been a normal summer.”
It’s just as well that the kitchen is all brand new too. Says Neil, “We have spent a fortune on it. We can do between 300 and 500 meals a day so our chefs have all the toys. “Our customers are able to enjoy local seafood straight from the boat and we buy our meat locally too. Although we don’t have customers from the cruise ships what we are getting is lots of daytrippers, sailors, and sea and wildlife enthusiasts and of course locals. It’s a nice clientele and we are certainly shifting a lot of higher-end wines.”
He concludes, “I am very happy with the way Macgochans now looks and operates. All our staff are back and we are looking forward to a busy few months. It has taken a lot of investment to get it back and get it trading where it should be. If we are doing these numbers at this time, when we are back to normal the business should be exceptional.”
Neil Morrison has taken over the running of The Lochside Hotel on Islay. Neil, who already runs Macgochans on the Isle of Mull, also owns his own whisky brand, Isle of Mull whisky.
The hotel, which is situated in Bowmore, on the banks of Loch Indaal, has great views over the water and Bowmore Pier. As well as a waterside terrace it also has a large conservatory dining room, two bars, and ten en-suite rooms.
Says Neil, “It’s an absolutely wonderful place in a magical location. It does need upgrading but I plan to pull in Scottish designer, Ranald Maccoll for the Lochside Hotel, as his style would fit this perfectly. My father’s from Islay and it’s always been a place I feel close to. I used to visit family in Ballygrant during my school holidays.”
The Lochside Hotel, also houses the world famous Duffie bar, which was named after former owner Duffie MacNeill who created one of the largest collections of Islay malt whiskies in the country – some 300 in total. He sold the hotel in 2011 to local businessman Angus Mackinnon. Now Neil has taken over the business and plans to continue the whisky legacy that Duffie created. He says “I’m looking forward to working with the local distilleries and driving forward what the Lochside is famous for.”
Neil plans to refurbish the Lochside Hotel in stages, he told DRAM, “I’ll probably need to start with the rooms and then attack the two bars. The accommodation side of things is new to me, however I have stayed in all sorts of hotels, and I have a fair idea of what works and what doesn’t. When Macgochans underwent a massive five-week refurbishment in 2012, Ranald was just the man for the job. His exceptional talent can be seen in the beautifully intricate hand painted thistles on display around the establishment, whilst his fine craftsmanship helped create the warm, rustic feel, locked in the interiors of the Main Bar and Bar Beag.”
MacGochan’s on the Isle of Mull picked up the Tennent’s Quality Award at this year’s DRAM Awards Susan Young caught up with Mull-born licensee Neil Morrison to find out the secret of his success.
When myself and fellow judge Stevie Dickson snuck into MacGochans on the Isle of Mull one rainy evening in May it was a real haven. The bustling bar and restaurant immediately lifted our spirits. It wasn’t the only bar that we visited that night on Mull, but it was evidently the most popular, and the service, food and the quality of the outlet were spot on. What struck us immediately was how professionally run the business was, and it was one of the few bars on the island that we could actually see working on the mainland too. Owner Neil Morrison is of a similar opinion.
I caught up with Neil at the Ben Nevis Bar in Glasgow and he told me that he was actively looking for other premises either in Edinburgh or Glasgow. In fact he had only that morning been busy helping Paul Sloan clear out a pub in Oban. Says Neil, “Paul offered me some furniture and fittings but I had to get my hands dirty… that’s why I have blisters. I’m not used to manual labour!”
But let’s rewind… Neil’s first job in the pub trade was in the Mishnish, on Mull, in fact that is where he first met Calum McLachlainn who is his now landlord and friend. Neil explains, ‘Calum owns MacGochans (and I now lease it from him) but back when I first met him I was working in the Mishnish and he came in and asked for a free pint. I said no, and that’s when he first offered me a job at MacGochans. I took him up on his offer and worked in MacGochans during the holidays and at Christmas when I was off college.”
He left the island for Glasgow and attended Stow College where he studied music. Although he did managed to combine this with door stewarding before taking the helm at one of the Student Union bars. By this time he had the licensed trade bug and when he graduated he headed to Campbeltown to open a bar for friend Calum Maclauchlain. This eventually led to a colleague’s mum suggesting Neil would be good at running his own pub and before you knew it he was working for MDP Leisure which was a management company that looked after distressed pubs. Neil comments, “My first role for them was managing the Crosskeys in Renfrew.”
His next role at MDP saw him head to Elgin to manage High Spirits where he stayed for two years. Says Neil, “Basically I bullshitted my way into the job at MDP and did most of my training on the job. I got sent to every type of pub you could imagine including a few in Glasgow – The Old Toll, the New Regent and a few in Edinburgh including the Cougar Lounge in Leith. I had a few interesting nights there!”
He continues, “I dealt with so many different types of customers over the 15 years that I can handle just about anyone. I also gained a lot of experience with regard to what makes a pub work especially when dealing with distressed pubs – the main issues were always the clientele and the difficulties in getting the target audience in.”
After leaving MDP eight years ago he went to work for Rab Orr in Edinburgh, but an ill-fated trip to Sweden severed that working relationship. Says Neil, “Don’t ask!” He continues, “Then I heard that the guy that was running MacGochans in Tobermory was looking for a new manager. I was reluctant because I didn’t really want to go back to Mull at that time. But I decided to give it a go for six months and ended up working for him for four years before taking the lease on myself.”
He continues, “I was nervous about taking the leap and working for myself. But I knew the business inside out before I took it on, and I knew what it could do. It had been rebuilt in 1998 after a landslide by the owners Calum McLachlainn and his business partner Allan ‘Winker’ MacLean, but by the time I took over it was in need of a refurbishment. Nearly three years ago I did just that, totally gutting it. Obviously I funded it and Calum and Allan gave me a hand. This is when I got renowned Scottish designer Ranald McColl in. The bar had originally been on the left of the building and we turned this into a restaurant that locals and families could use, and the public bar on the right evolved from that. We put in a nice fire and Ranald gave the restaurant and bar a modern Scottish look. He even had me out fishing for wood! We had to borrow a local scallop dredger to tow this massive lump of Greenhart wood out of the sea. It is the hardest wearing wood we could find and weathered over thousands of years to give it a perfect rustic finish. We used it on the surrounds, to create the bar front, and used the remainder as seat barriers for the booths. I was really pleased with the finished look and we re-opened in February 2012. Now we have just completed stage two and have refreshed the upstairs function area and created a large balcony and a new bar. We already do a lot of functions but I wanted it to be a nicer area. I kept finding myself apologising for the look of it. So I decided to do something about it and brought back Ranald to add his touch.”
Neil continues, “We are just about to extend our dining time from 10pm to 11pm to make the most of the dining opportunity. You now need to do good food, and we use, when we can, locally-sourced produce. We are part of the Oban Bay Buying Group but all our seafood/fish comes straight off the boat and we don’t like to freeze. During the season we can be doing 300/400 meals a day. It used to be that pubs threw cheap food in to get folk in to drink, now it is exactly the opposite.”
As well as being passionate about buying locally Neil also owns, with Calum Maclean, the Isle of Mull whisky brand and gets heavily involved with local events too; from the Isle of Mull Music Festival to the Mull Car Rally. Says Neil, “It’s good to be involved in events which get people to pull together. I have taken over the marketing and PR for the Mull Music Festival. The budget is small but we used social media to promote it to make the most of the budget.”
Neil is also one of the Mull Car Rally guardians – this is a group put together to ensure the rally goes ahead every year. Says Neil, “This year my lovely job is to find a mainline sponsor for the 2015 event.”
When he is not promoting the music festival and rally he is busy motivating his team. Last year he blew the pubs budget when he took two of his staff to New York. Explains Neil, “Every year all the MacGochans staff vote for their two hardest working colleagues to win an end of season trip to the states, these votes are done in a secret ballot. Last year Mikey Macdonald and Steven Higson were treated to a long weekend, flights and accommodation to New York including dinner at one of Danny Meyer’s top restaurants.” Neil continues, “This was a fantastic training experience and I wanted them to experience American service for themselves without me preaching about it.”
Certainly keeping his staff happy is one of his priorities. Says Neil, “It is difficult getting good staff, and we do employ a lot of students during the season, but during April and May and towards the end of the season the students are not around, and it is more challenging to keep the continuity of the service. But we do try very hard.”
So what is next for this island dynamo? Says Neil, “I would like to have at least five or six, even seven places. I’m torn because although I know that the mainland is the way forward for the business, I would like to see my son, who was born ten months ago, grow up on Mull.” But he adds, “When I am on Mull I can’t relax. I am always on call.” However he did get his first motor bike a few months back and now can take off on it when he needs to get away. I’m sure that with the success of MacGochan’s, Tobermory, it won’t be long before he achieves his ambition of opening a second venture. I’m sure his pals will be spurring him on.
Macgochans in Tobermory has been announced as a finalist for the Sunday Mail Pub of the Year prize at the 2014 DRAM Scottish Licensed Trade Awards, which take place at The Grand Central Hotel in Glasgow on Monday July 7th.
The Sunday Mail Pub of the Year seeks to recognise the best pub in the country. The nominations were made by members of the public from all over Scotland, who were asked to vote for pubs with a welcoming atmosphere, where customers came back again and again.
Macgochans sits in the harbour area of Tobermory, Mull, and was relaunched in 2012 by Neil Morrison. The venue boasts a whisky bar, restaurant bar, function suite and sizeable beer garden, and is the social hub of the town. Our judges were extremely impressed with the range and quality of drinks available, all served up with exemplary service with a smile.
The awards, dubbed the licensed trade ‘Oscars,’ are organised by licensed trade magazine, DRAM. Now in their 19th year, they are the longest-established awards of their kind in Scotland, recognising excellence in Scotland’s bar, restaurant and hospitality industries.
