Meet Kieran Thomas, General Manager | Stories from Stonegate

Tell us a little about your career progression with Stonegate.

"From starting with Stonegate at 19 years old, I progressed to a Team Leader within a year and then onto a Deputy Manager. 2 years from then, I held 2 sites as Holding General Manager until I got my first GM appointment. During this time, I worked at an incredibly busy site (Slug & Lettuce Portsmouth), which gave me a lot of experience to apply for my current job, and I had completed all the appropriate courses to be able to gain the required skills for my first GM appointment."

Can you describe what a typical day or week looks like in your role?

"No two days are the same, as much as that can be a bit of a cliché. We could have a 100-plus wedding in the function room to 100 covers booked in for a Sunday roast. The start of my week is getting ready for the week ahead and looking over the previous week to see how the business has performed and where we can improve. The midweek is always about lunch and dinner service for our customers and putting on events like a pub quiz, Live Entertainment, whereas weekends are all about the busy Fridays and Saturdays and, of course, Sunday roasts."

What do you enjoy the most about your job?

"People are why I do this job. I enjoy watching my teams’ progression in my site and seeing them progress from team members all the way to managers, as well as making guests’ everyday visits or special occasions the best we possibly can and ensuring they leave happy."

Is there anything you wish you would’ve known before starting your job?

"I wish I knew how much opportunity there was to progress; it’s not just a bar job I was applying for but a career."

What kind of skills have you learned?

"I’ve learned a lot in my time with Stonegate, but the most important thing is people skills, and not everyone learns in the same way. Take on as much guidance from your team as possible; they’re the ones that do the job day in and day out. If you don’t know something, ask, as everyone has been in that position before."

What has been your favourite memory since joining Stonegate?

"My favourite memories are the record-breaking days, seeing the team pull together to get the job done and really showing that one team effort."

Tell us an interesting fact about yourself!

"I love nothing more than a Sunday roast and a nice pint of ale!"