In the build up to the 2025 Cheltenham Festival, Park Life Sport caught up with bar manager Ollie Kent from the Montpellier Wine Bar who’s spending his tenth consecutive year in hospitality for the races.
The festival attracts over 250,000 spectators every year meaning lots of in advance preparation is needed “Each week we order four-five thousand pounds worth of stock, however for race week that increases to around 20 thousand making it four times the amount than usual. We don’t want to run out of anything, we may have stuff left over but that’s okay”.
In the most recent estimate of the festival’s economic impact on Cheltenham and it’s surrounding area was £270 million.
“We will have bouncers on, which we don’t usually have as the races can attract some rowdy characters, so that’ll be two bouncers each night they’ll be here 6-12 so that’s an expense, then obviously staff, on a normal weekend we’d have around four members of staff on, but for the races we will have seven instead, that’ll be from the Tuesday to the Friday”.
“We will hope to take in the week near on £75,000, For the whole town the races are massive. If it wasn’t for the races we’d probably have half the amount of bars and restaurants that we do have, we all rely on the races every year”.
“This will be my tenth races behind the bar, I get less excited now than when I was younger. You want to make as many cash tips as possible, when you’re a waiter you can make up to 600/700 pounds over the week in tips alone, less here as it’s a bar but you want to be making as many cash tips as possible”.
The Montpellier Wine Bar are promoting a ‘Bus & Back’ concept:
“The bus & back costs £25 to enjoy breakfast then get a mini bus up to the races and back, it benefits them as transport up to the races is expensive and then its beneficial for us as we get them back to enjoy the evening here”
