I first heard about the refurbishment of The Howard Arms in Kilmarnock from my hairdresser; it has been the subject of much conversation locally, sitting as it does in front of the biggest Tesco in town, adjacent to a busy retail park, and in prime position at a set of traffic lights. It is hard to miss! It has also been closed for a number of years, so everyone is delighted to see it open.
Today, Rick Houston and his wife, Liz, who run the Houston Pub Co., are the new licensees at the Star Pubs-owned venue, which has now been transformed. This is not the couple’s first foray into a partnership with the pub group; indeed, they have had the Cartvale in Busby for the last five years.
I caught up with Rick at The Howard Arms to hear more about his story and why he decided to move into Kilmarnock.
Rick started out in hospitality more than 35 years ago, and for much of his career, he has worked in the casual dining arena. He explains, “I started at the age of 17, working in my aunt’s pub, The Lonsdale, in Troon. It certainly sparked something in me. I then worked for Blair Leisure in Ayr. After going travelling I continued working in hospitality both in New Zealand and Australia and I realised that I had a talent for it. When I came back to Scotland I then did an HND and a degree in Hospitality Management at what used to be the Dough School in Glasgow, which is now Caledonian University.”
After graduating Rick joined a business called La Tasca at the height of the casual dining phenomenon. He explains, “ I started with La Tasca as the General Manager of their Newcastle restaurant when it was a small family-run business. I also opened La Tasca in Glasgow before progressing into a multisite role where I ended up looking after Scotland, the North of England, and Ireland—from Derby to Belfast and Aberdeen! I was lucky in that I worked in casual dining when it was at its peak for about 10 years. The sector was really booming and then it got gobbled up by discounting, which really ruined it.”
Prior to establishing the Houston Pub Co., he spent three years working for Ayrshire-based Buzzworks, also in an operational role, looking after its ‘house’ brands.
“It was probably working at Buzzworks that galvanized me into going into business for myself. They ran a very good family business, and it was something I had always wanted to do. I was approaching 50, and I thought it was now or never.”
He reveals that it was initially The Howard Arms that he talked to Star Pubs about. “The Howard Arms sparked my interest, and that’s what set me off on my journey. My mum was from Kilmarnock, and I was familiar with the area. I thought Killie was quite a vibrant town and knew that the people there enjoyed eating out, and there are other towns around it that feed in.
“But as it transpired, the Cartvale became available first. Star had spent £400K on the pub, but it didn’t work for the previous tenant. So we did a deal pre-COVID, and then we sat around until June 2020 when we took it on as a temporary management agreement that moved into a full five-year lease by November. The Cartvale has been a real success story for the couple.
Says Rick, “Since we took on the Cartvale, we have doubled the revenue and established a really good working relationship with Star. It is one of the biggest pubs in the area and probably has the biggest beer garden on the south side. It has a logburning stove, is dog-friendly, offers a private dining area, and has an all-day menu. It has character.”
“The Howard Arms is similar in all respects, except for the fire. You come into an old-fashioned style pub area, and there’s more of a dining area in the Killie room, which also turns into a private dining area, along with a little terrace. The designer has done a great job.”
Rick had always fancied The Howard, and when he saw it was closed a few years ago, he did talk to Star about it then. “But at the time, Heineken were not really looking to invest in anything because of the Bibby reforms. I was like a worm in their ear, and they obviously could see how far we had taken the Cartvale. Initially, what I liked about The Howard was that it is one of the few pubs out there which has always been a pub and is a standalone building. When Star was ready to get started on The Howard in January 2024, they approached me about it. Liz and I discussed it; it was a joint decision, and we decided to go ahead.
“Liz and I make a good team. We complement each other well. We both have different approaches and different skill sets, but I couldn’t do it without her, and I don’t think she could do it without me. Liz looks after all back-of-house payroll and such like, and commercial agreements for both businesses. Her background was in recruitment, sales, and latterly engineering.
“In fact, when we started the Cartvale, she was still working in engineering and worked at the Cartvale on weekends before coming on full-time. While I am front of house, I enjoy looking after customers. I like being a publican and have enjoyed being back at the sharp end.”
The pair got the keys to The Howard in November. Says Rick, “To get it operating the way it is at the moment, there has been a total investment of around £400K, with Star investing £300K. I think they have done a great job. A big part of the investment was moving the kitchen from behind the bar to what was the cellar and creating an open pass. We worked with them on the refurbishment, and they modelled the kitchen on our specifications—we do Neapolitan-style pizzas and pub classics, and the kitchen had to be able to cope with our menu.”
“This is the first time we have run two businesses. Liz and I are usually at the Cartvale all the time, but here we are managing a bit more remotely, and that’s why we have invested in a good management team. The plan is to operate The Howard more labour-efficiently than the Cartvale, which is a bit of a beast. We have 50 employees, 32 of whom are employed at the Cartvale, and the remainder at The Howard—we shouldn’t require as many staff here. We have a talented young chef in the shape of Lewis [last name], who has worked for me before, and Francis, who provides operational support. The rest of the team are local to Kilmarnock and Irvine.”
Although the plan is to manage at more of a distance, currrently it is all hands on deck. Rick smiles, “At the moment, The Howard Arms is our new baby, and the work-life balance is far more in favour of work right now. But we enjoy it. You can’t be in hospitality if you are not committed to it. But contrary to local rumours when we were opening, we are not lottery winners! We will need to work hard at making it a success.”
“I estimate that 15,000 cars go past The Howard every day. It is a cracking location. Our customers are varied—a bit of retail, quite a bit of residential, dog walkers, Sunday pub-goers, and a little bit of prefootball. It has always been a Killie pub, but it attracts a great crowd who are very family-oriented.”
“Already we are seeing our lunchtime trade well, and we are open seven days a week. But I think one of the areas we will see growth is in evening and weekend dining, particularly in the Killie Room. I don’t think people think of The Howard Arms as a destination for dinner, so we really want to switch that on.”
However, Rick is very aware of the challenges around the corner with the increase in National Insurance contributions and rising costs. He tells me, “A small business like ours is facing a lot of headwinds. We have always been profitable as a business, but everything we are facing at the moment means that we watch cash flow more closely. That’s what worries me, as you have to invest to grow and as a small family business we don’t have as deep pockets as other businesses might have.
“The biggest challenge will be the impact on the bottom line. We need to be very aware of where we are financially and consider whether we need to go into control mode. Previously, we would have thought, ‘Hey, we have a bit of cash in the bank, we can invest, we can look to the future, we can grow.’ But I don’t know what that future looks like at the moment.
“However, I don’t think for one moment that we won’t face it off like every other challenge that has come our way. What consoles me is that people will still want to go to the pub, and I think successful pubs will grow and grow.”
He continues, “I would not have a successful business now if Star and I had not been able to work together. It was a relatively low point of entry financially taking on the Cartvale, and I believe if you have a vision, desire, the passion, and commitment, you can enjoy success. That’s certainly been my experience.”
“However, the Bibby reforms have impacted the length of the leases now available. When we came to renew the Cartvale, we wanted five years, but we could only get three years, and already we are 18 months through that. I would still like to have another five-year lease on it because I would like to continue growing the business. To be frank, I couldn’t see the advantages of buying one line of product from an independent brewer—and the unintended consequence was that pub companies did stop investing in Scotland.
“As an experienced operator, I am a fan of the pub co model; it certainly works for our business. But you have to believe in the potential of the business and put the work in at the front end. You still need to give it the time it deserves. You have to look beyond the heart and the dream and consider the business and what you could make out of it. There is, or was, a perception out there that it is easier than it actually is to make a success of it.
“But I love it; I am as engaged in hospitality now as I was when I was 17. Running our family business has reignited my spark. When you are working for someone else, you are doing a job rather than trying to achieve a vision. My vision for The Howard Arms is to be a success, and it will be that when it is full of people. Fundamentally, you have to give people a good experience—that’s when I get the buzz, and I love it when customers share that with you. Pubs that do food and have a good all-round offer tick a lot of boxes at the sharp end of the market at the moment. I am quite happy to be in this world.”
That certainly comes across. I wish them every success.