Friday five: the week's top hospitality news stories
- Phil Howard will open a first bricks and mortar site of the OTTO delivery pasta brand that he launched last year. The Michelin-starred chef and his business partner in OTTO Julian Dyer will open a 74-cover all-day pasta bar located in London’s Piccadilly this November.
- Businesses will get a six-month support package to reduce their energy bills in response to the country's energy crisis. Newly-appointed Prime Minister Liz Truss has said that businesses, charities and public sector organisations will receive "equivalent" support to that which she had promised to UK households, where average household energy bills will be capped at £2,500 a year from the start of next month. The support will offer businesses an equivalent guarantee for six months, she said.
- The price of a pint would need to rise to £15-£20 to keep pubs afloat during the cost of living crisis, according to an expert. Tom Stainer, the chief executive of real campaign group CAMRA, says the increase in energy prices will cause running costs at pubs to increase by 500-600%, putting an enormous amount of establishments at risk of closure.
- Restaurants and chefs across the country have paid tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II following her death yesterday after 70 years on the throne. Hundreds of tributes have been paid to Her Majesty on social media including Instagram and Twitter from chefs, restaurants and institutions saddened by the passing of the country’s longest reigning monarch.
- Itsu has announced a second pay rise for staff in the space of 12 months, as it commits to supporting its people with the cost living crisis. The Asian-inspired brand will increase pay by up to 13% across all of its approximately 1,200 staff at its equity-owned restaurants. The increase builds on an earlier pay rise from the company this time last year, amounting to a combined increase of 22.3%.
