Friday Five: the week's top news
- Jeremy Clarkson has lodged an appeal against the closure of his Diddly Squat farm restaurant, despite recently saying he no longer wished to open one. The broadcaster, whose Diddly Squat farm in Chadlington, Oxfordshire, has been made famous by the Amazon Prime show Clarkson’s Farm, has appealed against the enforcement notice issued by West Oxfordshire District Council (WODC) last summer, which forced the restaurant to close little more than a month after it first opened. Liam Walker, who is a Conservative member of the Oxfordshire County Council, confirmed that Clarkson had lodged the appeal on his Twitter account last week. Clarkson is also challenging WODC's refusal of planning permission to extend Diddly Squat's farm shop car park. The hearing for both appeals due to be conducted by the planning inspector in March.
- Chef Mark Sargeant has closed his The Brasserie MS restaurant in Folkestone after just six months. The former Gordon Ramsay lieutenant cited ‘today’s tough trading conditions’ but also alluded to a difference in opinion with his backers. “This is not an easy decision that has been taken lightly but and the uncertain future have simply left me no choice but to turn the lights off and close the doors of The Brasserie MS,” the chef wrote in an Instagram post. “I opened to rave reviews in August, but sadly my backers don’t share my same vision of restaurant excellence!” Sargeant confirmed that his team and suppliers would be paid in full and that all pre-paid bookings would be compensated.
- Foodservice price inflation fell slightly to 22.0% in January, the new edition of the CGA Prestige Foodservice Price Index (FPI) reveals. While only a small change from the Index’s record high of 22.9% in December, it marks the first drop in inflation since September 2021. It comes as Britain’s leading managed pub, bar and restaurant groups achieved like-for-like sales growth of 10.9% in January 2023, according to the new edition of the Coffer CGA Business Tracker. The Tracker — produced by CGA by NielsenIQ in partnership with The Coffer Group and RSM UK — has now recorded yearon-year growth (14.7%) for four months in a row. January’s figure is also marginally ahead of the current 10.1% rate of inflation, as measured by the Consumer Prices Index.
- Late-night cookie concept Insomnia Cookies will launch in the UK this year, with owner Krispy Kreme saying the brand has whitespace for more than 4,000 locations globally. The American cookie concept, founded in 2003, currently has 231 shops across the US and aims to ramp up to 100 new openings per year – up from 20 openings currently. It will also launch in Canada within the year. Insomnia Cookies stores, typically based near college campuses, stay open until 3am. Speaking on an investor call in November, Krispy Kreme CEO Mike Tattersfield said the concept has experienced success beyond campuses and urban markets, in select suburban locations. Tattersfield further said the existing estate has seen strong sales growth, largely due to success in the digital e-commerce side of the business.
- Pret A Manger is facing questions over its coffee subscription after announcing smoothies and frappes are being scrapped from its range. The company announced this week that it was revamping its iced drinks range, in what it described as its 'biggest drinks innovation in over five years'. The new drinks, which will be available in more than 90% of shops from April, will expand on current iced coffee and tea options, but will see frappes and smoothies scrapped altogether. A source close to Pret told MCA, BigHospitality's sister site, around 80% of subscription customers do not currently order smoothies or frappes.
For more of this week's headlines, click here.
