M.R. ONIONS
Bermuda's Marriott Hotel is one
of the best hotel customers of
Gosling Brothers.
meal In the dining room or at tables in
the bar section. The Robin Hood has
three bars and its biggest selling beer
is Amstel Light.
changed to Amstel Light.' His customers
in fact discovered quite quickly that the
taste of Amstel Light is comparable to
that of Amstel regular, but then with
fewer calories.
Richard Hartley (righ t) is accompanied by rep
resentative Bill Davis on a visit to M.R. Onions.
27
John Scupham was pessimistic
when Gosling sales representaive An
drew Longworth offered him the new
product Amstel Light. 'We were accus
tomed to thinking that a light beer ought
to be packed in a light coloured bottle.
I couldn't really appreciate a dark bottle
being used for a light beer.' Despite his
scepticism and his expectation that the
product would quickly disappear from
the range again, he decided to stock it
after all. With far-reaching conse
quences: 'It was amazing to see that
within three months all the other light
beers were out and everybody had
Robin Hood proprietor John Scupham (left)
with Goslings' representative Andrew
Longworth at one of the bars.
Right from the moment John
Scupham took over the Robin Hood, it
was a big success. John explains why:
'The Robin Hood was the first genuine
English pub on the island. People like
the atmosphere here. It's not a bar
where lots of people have to crowd to
gether to have a good night out. We have
small, intimate rooms so that the cus
tomer can have a pleasant time even on
quiet evenings.'
Not that the Robin Hood has many
quiet evenings. Friday night is the
busiest night of the week, attracting five
to six hundred visitors. The clientele
mainly consists of local people aged be
tween 18 and 40. Tourists are not often
spotted in the Robin Hood. 'The tourists
who know about us have usually asked
the locals where they can find a local
pub. Luckily, they often mention the
name of the Robin Hood.'
A restaurant that has grown in a
short time to become one of Bermuda's
most popular eating places is M.R. On
ions. Owner Brian Hetzel bought the
restaurant several years ago, renovated
it entirely and turned it into a typical
Bermuda-style restaurant with many
local dishes on the menu. The owner is
proud to be a Bermudian. That's also
reflected in the restaurant's name. If
you pronounce M.R. Onions quickly,
what you'll be saying in Bermuda
dialect is 'We are onions'. Onions is the
nickname for Bermudians. The name
has its origins in the last century when
the island made its living from the ex
port of vegetables, mainly onions.
M.R. Onions is a business that has
plenty of atmosphere. It has a big square
bar screened off from the restaurant
section. A lot of Heineken is served at
that bar. So much, in fact, that M.R. On
ions can be classed as a big customer
for Burrows Lightbourn. A lot of Amstel
Light can also be seen on the bar and
the tables. At lunchtime the premises
are mainly visited by businessmen.
Many tourists can also be found at the
tables for dinner.
THE WORLD OF HEINEKEN