Coronavirus: the positive hospitality industry moves
- Diageo has launched a new information service to support licensed business owners who want to access the commercial measures announced by the Government. Provided by business advisory firm Grant Thornton UK LLP, the service includes a free-to-call phone line that is available to customers from both the on and off-trade. The number is 02077282556. Alternatively, you can also access information via email at: Publican.Support@uk.gt.com.
- Northern Monk brewery has given away 5,000 cans of its flagship ‘Faith’ beer to NHS workers across the UK. In a statement, Northern Monk founder Russell Bisset said: “There’s never been a more important time for us to come together in support of our NHS and show each individual how much we appreciate the ground-breaking work that they’re doing to battle Covid-19. “We all put our faith in NHS employees on a daily basis. This is our way of giving them a little Faith in return.”
- BrewDog founders James Watt and Martin Dickie have said they will both forgo all their salary for 2020 to help protect jobs across the company. In a Tweet posted yesterday (29 March), Watt said: “In order to protect as many jobs at BrewDog as we can, many of our senior team have volunteered to take pay cuts and myself and my co-founder Martin are forgoing all salary for 2020 – but we haven’t started sleeping in the brewery (yet)”. He added that BrewDog COO David McDowall had volunteered to take a 50% pay cut.
- Honest Burgers has teamed up with London-based charity City Harvest to deliver thousands of cottage pies and lasagnes made using leftover meat accumulated following the temporary closure of the business. Honest Burgers founders Tom Barton, Phil Eles and Dorian Waite worked with staff overnight to turn all of the leftover steak in their Sutton-based butchery into chopped-steak lasagnes and cottage pies, which were delivered to vulnerable people across London by City Harvest last Friday (27 March).
- The Marble Arch London BID (Business Improvement District) is working with businesses in the area through regular email updates regarding the latest government policies, and through access to webinars designed to help both employers and employees understand their rights during these difficult times. It has also worked with both the Hilton London Metropole Hotel and the Grosvenor Victoria Casino to connect them with the local community and donate surplus food. This has resulted in over 30 boxes of food – including pasta, sauces and 2,000 McVities biscuits being sent to North Paddington Foodbank. Meanwhile, the Grosvenor Victoria Casino has donated over £3,500 of their restaurant produce to local charity the Westminster Society, which provides support to individuals with complex needs and profound disabilities.
