Case study: how The Lounge in Oswestry runs its rota and daily checks
The Lounge is a sports bar in Oswestry run by Kirkham Hospitality. Since April 2026 its team of 16 has used ShiftComplete for the rota, daily opening, cleaning and closedown checks, allergens, maintenance and risk assessments. By late October 2026 that came to 709 shifts on the rota, 2,056 availability updates from staff and 8,591 checks ticked off.
On this page
The Lounge sits in the middle of Oswestry, Shropshire, and calls itself the town's number one live sports venue. It has more than ten screens showing TNT and Sky Sports, Smart Darts, a SHUFL board and five pool tables, and it runs pool and darts leagues, live music nights, corporate events and private hire for birthdays, engagement parties, work dos, baby showers and weddings.
That mix makes for an awkward rota. A quiet Tuesday and a Saturday with a big match on the screens need completely different numbers on the bar, and the busy nights are set by the fixture list and the event calendar, not by a fixed weekly pattern.
Before ShiftComplete
The Lounge's owner, Graeme Kirkham, ran the venue the way most bars do. The rota was drafted in a spreadsheet, posted to the staff WhatsApp group and patched by voice note when someone dropped a shift mid-week. Fridge temperatures went in a clipboard book behind the bar, allergen knowledge lived in the chef's head, and getting ready for an EHO visit meant a Sunday night of rewriting.
Graeme also owns a second bar in the town, Knock & Snitch, and a lot of the team work at both. Keeping two rotas straight on paper, with the same names on each, was where most of the arguments started.
What The Lounge uses ShiftComplete for
The Lounge started on ShiftComplete in April 2026. These are the figures from its account up to late October 2026.
| What | How The Lounge uses it | Since April 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Rota | Built from staff availability, then published to everyone's phone | 709 shifts on the rota |
| Availability | Staff mark when they can and can't work, from their own phone | 2,056 updates from staff |
| Daily checks | Opening, cleaning and closedown checks, different by day of the week | 8,591 checks ticked off |
| Team | Everyone logs in on their own phone | 16 staff, 12 used it in the last 30 days |
| Allergens | Dishes mapped to the 14 UK allergens for front of house to check | 7 dishes |
| Maintenance | Faults logged with a status until they're fixed | 8 issues logged |
| Risk assessments | Kept and reviewed in the app | 3 risk assessments |
On a typical trading day over the last month, the team ticked off around 42 checks at The Lounge. Every one is named and timestamped, so the record of who opened, cleaned and closed builds up on its own.
How the rota works now
Staff put their availability in from their phone, often weeks ahead. The manager builds the week from that, moves shifts around, then publishes it, and it lands on everyone's phone under My rota. Between May and October 2026, shifts typically went on The Lounge's rota about two weeks before the day.
Because the rota starts from who can actually work, the late-night swaps and "can anyone cover" messages drop off. When a big fixture or a private party is booked in, the manager can plan extra cover for that day rather than finding out on the night that the bar is short.
Sharing staff with Knock & Snitch
Of the 35 people across Graeme's two venues, 14 are set up to work at both. They have one login and see every shift, at either bar, in one place. Managers can put them on whichever rota needs them, and the owner can switch between the two venues without juggling two systems.
You can read how the second venue uses it in the Knock & Snitch case study.
In Graeme's words
"The rota stopped being a Sunday-night argument the week we switched over. The chef stopped being the only person who knows what's in the kitchen. And the EHO turn up to a screen, not a box file."
Graeme Kirkham, Owner, The Lounge Oswestry & Knock & Snitch
To be clear about the connection: Graeme is also one of the founders of ShiftComplete. The app began as the tool he wanted for his own venues, and The Lounge was the first place it was used day to day. The figures above come straight from The Lounge's account.
What other sports bars can take from it
- Get availability in before you write the rota. If the fixture list says a big weekend is coming, ask for availability early and build around it.
- Plan for the event, not the weekday. A match night or a private hire needs more hands on the bar than the same night without one. Put it on the rota when it's booked.
- Split checks into opening, cleaning and close. Three short lists by time of day get done more reliably than one long one, and a named tick shows who did each.
- Log faults when they happen. A broken ice machine or a dead screen logged on a Friday is still there with its status on Tuesday, instead of being forgotten.
- Keep allergens where front of house can see them. When a customer asks at the bar, staff can check the dish themselves rather than shouting to the kitchen.
If you run a bar with a busy event calendar, these guides go further: rota app for bars, the opening and closing checklist and the pub maintenance log.
Frequently asked questions
What does The Lounge use ShiftComplete for?
The rota, staff availability, daily opening, cleaning and closedown checks, the allergen information for its menu, the maintenance log, risk assessments and team announcements. Staff use it on their own phones. The owner, Graeme Kirkham, runs it alongside his second venue, Knock & Snitch, from the same account.
How far ahead does The Lounge plan its rota?
Shifts typically go on The Lounge's rota about two weeks before the day: the median gap between a shift being added and the shift itself was 15 days between May and October 2026. Staff set their availability from their phone first, so the rota is built around who can actually work.
Is Graeme Kirkham connected to ShiftComplete?
Yes. Graeme Kirkham owns The Lounge and Knock & Snitch, and he is also one of the founders of ShiftComplete. The app started as the tool he wanted for running his own two venues, and The Lounge was the first venue to use it. The numbers on this page come from The Lounge's own account.
Can staff work at two venues on the same rota system?
Yes. Fourteen of the 35 people across The Lounge and Knock & Snitch are set up to work at both. They use one login, see their shifts at either venue under My rota, and managers rota them at whichever bar needs them.
How much would ShiftComplete cost a sports bar?
ShiftComplete costs £1.49 per staff member per month with every feature included, no per-site fee and no contract. A team of 16 would be £23.84 a month. It's free for the first 60 days, and you don't need a card to start.
Sources
Checked 26 October 2026. This guide is general information, not legal advice.