Mischelle and David Goodman fell in love with everything that rural village pubs offer and represent when they were on a family holiday in England in 2019.
Since then, they've traveled back yearly, reveling in the culture, history and welcoming nature of more than 200 pubs in England and Ireland.
The couple decided to take a leap and open up their own authentic pub in Smithfield 19 months ago.
“It started as a far-fetched plan — a daydream — that we would have a pub when I retired,†said David Goodman, a Smithfield native who has worked at Newport News Shipbuilding for the past 38 years.
But when the building on the corner of Church and Main streets downtown became available, he and his wife knew it would be the perfect location.
“We wanted it to be the heartbeat of the village,†David Goodman said.
The Fiddlin' Pig recreates a British vibe with black-pitched beams and lath and plaster walls as well as with its made-from-scratch and plated pub fare. It also attained the Cask Marque, a certification revered across the pond, for its traditional ale. So its no surprise the pub abides by the “no tipping†practice commonplace throughout the United Kingdom and most of Europe.
“We have replicated it to the greatest extent possible,†David Goodman said.
That includes providing hourly employees with a livable wage — starting between $15 to $20 an hour — because in England, people expect a level of service that goes above and beyond, he said.
“As Americans we evolved our hospitality industry around being rewarded extra for that level of service,†David Goodman said.
The Fiddlin' Pig shifted the paradigm: Everyone gets the same high level of service, and each of the hourly employees, including bartenders and food runners, are equally compensated.
Mischelle Goodman, an accountant by trade, said she was on board with the idea but a bit concerned about the financial feasibility at first. After numerous spreadsheets, projections and comparisons, she knew it would work.
She also saw firsthand how wait staff abroad focus on service, warmth and friendliness — all the things one would want when stepping into an establishment, she said.
“I think they're better employees because they don't have that mentality of ‘I have to go chase these tips,'†Mischelle Goodman said.
The no-tipping culture has been refreshing for employees, such as bar manager Ellie Bryant. In the industry for almost 10 years and bartending for four, Bryant learned the details for no-tipping during her interview.
“They explained it all and said it's a consistent rate every shift you work so nobody's fighting for the busy Friday nights because you're making the same amount of money on a slow Tuesday morning,†Bryant said.
Although hesitant at first, she thought why not give it a go. Now she can't imagine going back to earning $2.13 an hour plus tips.
“It's a guaranteed safety net of an actual income,†she said. “You can budget, plan and prepare for anything.â€
And Bryant said she has never felt as appreciated as she does at The Fiddlin' Pig.
The Goodmans take it even further with profit-sharing — so when they say their employees have a sense of ownership, it's genuine.
“I want my employees to feel like owners, not like they're in some ramshackled industry that doesn't value them as a person or doesn't value every hour,†David Goodman said. “When you hire intentionally and strip away all the superficial actions employees take to ‘solicit' good tips, you end up with genuine hospitality and an environment that customers want to return to often.â€
And the proof is in the pudding. The business recorded a net profit in its first quarter of operations and continues to exceed projected profitability, he said.
Ultimately, David Goodman said he hopes people will see the hospitality industry differently.
“To me, it's about a societal shift,†he said. “Let's go back to expecting a level of standard that we all should expect without compensation as an extra thing.â€
Sandra J. Pennecke, 757-652-5836, sandra.pennecke@pilotonline.com
