Meet Hatt Eaton, the landlady of The Eddy pub, located near Brighton station. Hatt and her team have won double BRAVO awards, earning the prestigious title of Best Brighton Pub for both 2023 and 2024.
You won the BRAVO Best Local category in 2023 and 2024. How did this feel and what impact did it have on business?
We were utterly delighted to have Brighton’s Best Pub award for two consecutive years.
It felt wonderful to be recognised for all the work we had put in. We really have embraced the neighbourhood.
The impact it had on business was positive; it’s always nice to feel proud of an achievement and an award gives you credibility, which is great for generating new business. It creates a sense of trust for newcomers as we were voted for by our customers directly from their experience with us.
How else would you describe the experience at The Eddy for those that haven’t been before?
The personality of the pub is very friendly and very creative.
My sister and I both coming from artistic backgrounds and this can be seen and felt all over.
The Eddy was always a sports pub, but we offer a lot, lot more. We use our creativity to host fab events, band nights, quizzes etc all with our creative,’ think outside the box’, ‘attention to detail’ style.
We put a lot of energy into creating unique decorations and transforming the pub for our events. There really is nowhere like us!
Tell us about the team at The Eddy, as it is the team that earned you best Local?
I have been fortunate to have a fantastic team from the get-go. My staff have been with me for quite a few years now and it’s a priority to me that our guests have the best possible experience, so I train my staff myself thoroughly in customer service and they excel! Covid helped introduce the table service we have in the pub and it works really well for us.
Our team is tight, we support each other like a family.
We expect a lot from the team, but we give a lot back and its very rewarding for everyone.
What is new at The Eddy, what changes have taken place since winning the awards?
We have been increasing our repertoire really, fine-tuning established events and creating new ones. Painting events, cocktail nights, drag shows, a Tarot reader, themed evenings, movie nights and so many more!
We brought out a book as part of our ‘Dogs at The Eddy’ project (which started when we took over the pub and has grown). It’s a social media project where we photograph customers dogs. The photos are done by my sister Jess with her artistic eye and are rather beautiful to be honest. We created the book and had an exhibition in the pub which was fantastic. Our band nights have also come along quite a bit with a really effective stage area in the pub that we have refined, and bands are lining up to play here.They really are unbelievably fun nights and we often have the whole pub singing and dancing. We have also started doing a monthly quiz which is hilarious fun as again, we do it slightly differently to other places. With us, it’s all about creating the best experience for our customers whilst having fun ourselves. We are lucky in having a friendship with notorious Brighton Burlesque performer Dolly Rocket, who is the resident host/artiste at Pride Cabaret in Kemptown. Dolly hosts all our events too with her hilarious humour and amazing costumes, and this has become a permanent feature of our events.
Tell us about your journey to working with The Eddy and what is your background?
I left Brighton in the 80’s and moved to Paris and South America for 25 years. I worked in fashion and textiles then came full circle back to Brighton when my son was young. I got a job as a bar tender not really thinking it would be permanent, but I’m hard-working and am good at organisation and it really started to make a difference to the place. I was offered a promotion, decided to go for it, so I worked really hard and learned the trade… all off my own back, but with the help, knowledge and experience from a few trusted friends …and now I am the Landlady of The Eddy.
What was the career that you planned for when you were younger?
I didn’t have a career plan. I knew I loved France and speaking French so I left to see what I could find. I have had different careers, my own textile company for 15 years and now in hospitality. I guess the common denominator being people and I’m good at organisation and am comfortable with responsibility.
When you have time to dine or drink elsewhere, which venues in Brighton (or outside of Brighton) do you enjoy eating at?
I love sitting at the bar in English’s to enjoy excellent food and customer service, however on a more regular basis I absolutely love the cheese board at the French Horn. Sandrine is French and her food is authentic and quite exquisite.
Where would you like to go and eat next?
I want to try the Ivy Asia just for the visual delight.
Who are your customers?
My customers are mostly the people that live in the neighbourhood or are people who have moved away but frequently come and visit. We have many customers that visit Brighton yearly and always make a point of visiting but generally we are a very tight community. It’s a very friendly pub, everyone is welcome, and many friendships have been made. I like to think single females can come on their own and feel safe here.We never overfill the pub and are always aware of all of our guests. We know first-hand, how hard it can be when out alone. We take care of our girls!
Favourite Sussex Supplier?
Bar Sussex Supplies because they are such a lovely team and company to work with. Their customer service goes above and beyond. The whole team, from delivery to ordering are so efficient, personable and nothing is ever too much for them.
They have a great range of products and will go out of their way to source things if they don’t have them in their stock.
What has been your biggest challenge?
Initially when we took over the initial challenge was in educating our football crowds what we expected in terms of respect for the pub, in behaviour and it being a place that everyone should be united, opposing teams etc. People who did not want to follow our rules were either asked to leave or left to find a pub more to their liking. Since then our football days are just great and we rarely have issues. So now I guess our challenges are to continue being creative and inventive, not that this a challenge but more a motivator to keep things upbeat.
How is your business adapting to the current economic conditions?
Times are tougher than last year for sure, but we have a faithful client base and I have got to know when to expect tough times of the year and adapt staffing/expenses appropriately. Having a positive attitude and helping others feel things will get better eventually definitely makes a difference and helps not spread the fear that we all tend to pass on to each other. We are very good at creating decorations and events on a shoe-string budget….it’s about the idea, not how much money you throw at it… so we can create an atmosphere that helps people escape from the grey outside and this helps us all!
What’s your favourite or go to meal?
I live with my sister and we are lucky that we enjoy food in the same way. We like it healthy, but simple. We usually have chicken or fish and lots of garlicy salad. Occasionally a potato. We both lived abroad for 20 years and generally the food on the continent is healthier than ours. We like a lot of green, a lot of crunch and are crazy for nuts , seeds and garlic. We also love cheese and fresh bread.
Who has been your biggest inspiration?
I think my biggest inspiration has been Mark who I started the pub with and my sister. Mark with his amazing knowledge of the trade, his incredible warmth and charisma towards our customers and seeing those finer details in customer service that makes all the difference to the experience; and my sister for her source of creative inspiration, sense of making things fun and boundless energy to make things happen in such an incredibly artistic universe for our events.
Her positivity is infectious.
What is next for you and the business?
We want to keep building on everything we are doing….getting better and tighter.
For the music nights, getting in more variations of music, from reggae, soul to punk, switching up expectation a gear We also want to continue making this the best pub for watching sports…we are constantly finding little ways to improve things. It’s exciting. We will continue to invent amusing events/ things that you won’t find anywhere else. We have an art room dedicated to creating decorations and visual things for the pub and we are constantly brainstorming our next idea. You should see what we have come up with for Halloween 2024…we can’t wait!
Why do you enjoy the BRAVO Awards?
I think the Bravo awards is a good motivator for pubs to get the best out of themselves. Competition is a drive, but it is also a way of making sure that we are doing our jobs properly and putting the most into our work, giving customers a great experience by being the best we possibly can. The Bravo Awards have pushed a lot of places to step it up which in my opinion is a good thing! Thanks Bravo !
