Casual Dining

Outdoor hospitality sees 'encouraging' first week of sales though recovery has long way to go

21-Apr-2021 By James McAllister

Hospitality venues in England enjoyed a stronger bounce in sales than they did after the first national lockdown in July 2020, despite being limited to outdoor service.

Hospitality accounts for nearly half of total jobs lost in the last year

20-Apr-2021 By James McAllister

Nearly half of all UK jobs lost in the last year were in hospitality, figures released by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) show.

Food prices likely to rise as sector reopens

20-Apr-2021 By Joe Lutrario

Several months of falling food and non-alcoholic drinks prices are expected to come to an end as the hospitality industry reopens, the latest edition of the Foodservice Price Index from CGA and Prestige Purchasing reveals.

Steven Edwards to pop up at The Pass as Etch closes for refurbishment

20-Apr-2021 By Joe Lutrario

Etch chef Steven Edwards will return to his former workplace South Lodge, in West Sussex, for an eight-week summer residency - Steven Edwards at The Pass.

Restaurants and pubs in Wales to be allowed to trade outdoors from next week

20-Apr-2021 By Restaurant

Restaurants and pubs and other hospitality businesses will be able to reopen for outdoor trading from next Monday (26 April).

Three Things Summit to support small and medium sized UK businesses

20-Apr-2021 By Restaurant

Current and former CEOs from some of the UK's best-known companies will come together and offer their advice to SMEs at this month’s Three Things Summit.

Wine-focused restaurant and bar heads for Oxford

19-Apr-2021 By Joe Lutrario

Kent Barker is to launch a restaurant, wine bar and wine shop in Oxford’s Jericho area next month.

'Hope on the horizon' as Northern Ireland Executive sets indicative dates for hospitality reopening

19-Apr-2021 By James McAllister

The Northern Ireland Executive has confirmed that outdoor hospitality settings will finally be able to unlock later this month.

Businesses face ‘rocky road to recovery’

19-Apr-2021 By Finn Scott-Delany

Hospitality trade bodies UKH, BBPA and BII have called for Government to extend the business rates holiday for at least a further three months to allow businesses to get back on their feet.

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How delivery-only kitchens are securing the future of hospitality

19-Apr-2021 By Charlie Farr

The global head of PKL Delivery Kitchens Charlie Farr on the rise of virtual restaurant brands and what to consider when launching one.

Emma Woods to step down as Wagamama CEO

19-Apr-2021 By James McAllister

Wagamama chief executive Emma Woods has announced she plans to step down from the role and hand over to her internally appointed successor, Thomas Heier.

Tom Crowley named as Popeyes UK chief executive

19-Apr-2021 By Restaurant

US fried chicken brand Popeyes has appointed Tom Crowley as its UK chief executive.

Leon sold to EG Group for £100m

19-Apr-2021 By Joe Lutrario

Leon has been acquired by forecourt retailer and fast food operator EG Group in a deal reported to be worth up to £100m.

Just one in four licensed venues trading in England after first week of outdoor service

19-Apr-2021 By James McAllister

Just under a quarter of England’s licensed premises have reopened for outdoor-only service since restrictions were eased last Monday (12 April), according to latest data from CGA and AlixPartners.

Flash-grilled: Raul Diaz

16-Apr-2021 By James McAllister

Sommelier Raul Diaz, whose new book Wine & Recipes was published last year, on his favourite food and drink pairing, why steak can be overrated, and being an amateur musician.

Friday Five: the week's top news

16-Apr-2021 By James McAllister

This week's main hospitality news stories include Albert Adrià closing nearly all his Barcelona restaurants, operators struggling with inconsistent enforcement of outdoor trading rules, and Bar Crispin opening in Soho.

Choppaluna plans aggressive expansion with over 60 new sites in the pipeline

16-Apr-2021 By James McAllister

Salad-focused fast casual brand Choppaluna is set for aggressive expansion across the UK.

UKHospitality Cymru urges Welsh Government to bring forward indoor reopening date

16-Apr-2021 By James McAllister

UKHospitality Cymru (UKHC) has urged the Welsh Government to bring forward the reopening date for indoor hospitality in Wales and at least align with England and Scotland's plan to unlock on 17 May.

Hospitality businesses believe vaccine passports will likely be introduced, poll finds

16-Apr-2021 By BigHospiality

Hospitality businesses are anticipating the introduction of vaccination passports once restaurants and pubs reopen fully, a latest poll has found.

OPSO team to open live-fire Greek restaurant INO in Soho

16-Apr-2021 By Restaurant

The team behind Marylebone restaurant OPSO and the Athens based two Michelin-starred restaurant Funky Gourmet are converting their Pitta Bun venue in Soho into a new live-fire restaurant.

Le Pain Quotidien bolsters vegan offering

15-Apr-2021 By Joe Lutrario

Bakery and café chain Le Pain Quotidien is to increase its number of vegan options and introduce a number of other sustainable initiatives as it starts to reopen for eat-in customers.

McDonald's mandates anti-harassment training worldwide

15-Apr-2021 By James McAllister

McDonald's is to implement new global brand standards to combat harassment, discrimination and violence in its restaurants, starting next year.

Victor Lugger: "We want to be PayPal for bricks and mortar"

15-Apr-2021 By Joe Lutrario

Big Mamma Group co-founder Victor Lugger is looking to shake up how customers pay the bill following a €20m (£17.3m) seed-funding round for his QR-code based mobile payments start-up Sunday.

Sacha Lord calls for fair tipping policy amid warning of a post-Covid decline in gratuities

15-Apr-2021 By James McAllister

Greater Manchester's night time economy advisor Sacha Lord is calling for an industry-wide fair tipping policy amid warnings of a post-Covid decline in customers leaving gratuities.

Drink sales rocket on hospitality's first day of trading

14-Apr-2021 By James McAllister

Like-for-like drink sales were up by more than 110% on hospitality's first day of trading (12 April) compared to the same day in 2019, according to CGA data.

Proposals to force calorie labelling on pub pints 'ludicrous'

14-Apr-2021 By James McAllister

Leaked Government proposals that would force bigger pub chains to provide calorie labelling on pints of beer have been slammed by the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) as 'ludicrous'.

Rosa’s Thai Café pushes on with expansion

14-Apr-2021 By James McAllister

Rosa’s Thai Café is planning to open up to six new restaurants over the next year, as well as continuing to grow its portfolio of delivery-only 'cloud' kitchens.

Campaign launched to encourage deposits as restaurant no shows return

14-Apr-2021 By Restaurant

A campaign aimed at making restaurant and pub no shows a thing of the past has been launched to coincide with the reopening of the hospitality sector.

Hawthorn plans IPO as standalone business

14-Apr-2021 By James McAllister

Community pub operator Hawthorn has unveiled plans to list on the stock market as a standalone quoted business.

The Tapas Room to open fifth London restaurant

13-Apr-2021 By Restaurant

Spanish wine bar group The Tapas Room will open its fifth and largest venue next month in Peckham.

Adventure Bar Group builds Birmingham presence

13-Apr-2021 By James McAllister

London-based, late-night operator Adventure Bar Group is to take its cocktail bar brand Tonight Josephine to Birmingham for its first bricks and mortar opening outside of the capital.

WingShack Co lines up seven restaurants

12-Apr-2021 By Joe Lutrario

WingShack Co has unveiled ambitious expansion plans with five new locations expected to open in London alongside a further two outside the capital this year.

Cue Point to launch 'London’s first drive-thru BBQ'

12-Apr-2021 By Restaurant

British Afghan BBQ restaurant Cue Point is opening what it says will be London’s first drive-thru BBQ later this week, in Chiswick.

Operators stung by inconsistent enforcement of outdoor trading rules

12-Apr-2021 By Joe Lutrario

Some local authorities appear to not be taking a consistent, light-touch approach to the enforcement of Coronavirus-related regulations requested by the Government as operators reopen for outdoor trading.

Bar Crispin to open in Soho

12-Apr-2021 By James McAllister

All-day restaurant Crispin in London's Spitalfields has secured a prime Soho spot from which it will launch a new bar concept this summer that focuses on natural wine.

Purezza heads to Manchester for first northern outpost

12-Apr-2021 By James McAllister

Vegan pizza brand Purezza is to launch its first northern outpost in Manchester next month.

Hospitality sector confident UK will avoid another post-summer lockdown

12-Apr-2021 By Restaurant

Operators within the hospitality sector are confident that the UK will avoid going into another lockdown after the summer, according to the latest Lumina Intelligence Hospitality Leaders Poll.

Inception Group to take on Axa over business interruption insurance

12-Apr-2021 By James McAllister

London-based hospitality company Inception Group is to launch a legal challenge against insurer Axa in a bid to recover millions of pounds in business interruption payouts.

Uber Eats launches in-restaurant food ordering platform

09-Apr-2021 By Joe Lutrario

Uber Eats is launching Dine-In, a new feature that allows in-restaurant diners to order their food via the delivery company’s app.

Friday Five: the week's top news

09-Apr-2021 By James McAllister

This week's main hospitality news stories include Sacha Lord's High Court case being expediated, Wendy's plans to open in Croydon, and Unite accusing Six by Nico of staff mistreatment.

Alfresco April – what are the rules for opening outdoors?

09-Apr-2021 By James McAllister

With outdoor hospitality finally able to open on Monday 12 April, we trawl through the Government’s guidance to tell you what the rules are and how to implement them safely.

Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Pint After Midnight) - pubs plan early morning opening on 12 April

09-Apr-2021 By James McAllister

A handful of pubs in England with 24-hour licenses have announced that they plan to open as soon as Coronavirus restrictions on outdoor hospitality settings lift at midnight on Monday.

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Make the sustainable switch with PG tips

09-Apr-2021 By PG tips

PG tips has become the first major tea brand to switch to 100% plant-based tea bags across its food service range.

Ramen specialist Tonkotsu heads to Brighton

09-Apr-2021 By James McAllister

Ramen restaurant chain Tonkotsu has secured its first permanent restaurant outside the capital, in Brighton.

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Scrapping service charge? Be careful what you wish for

09-Apr-2021 By Peter Davies

Abolishing service charge and tronc might seem like a step in the right direction, but it’s a costly one-way street for hospitality operators.

Loungers to open four more venues in “tenant-friendly environment” post lockdown

09-Apr-2021 By Restaurant

Loungers will grow its estate to 172 restaurants and bars by the end of the May with the opening of four new venues as it looks to get back on track to opening 25 sites a year.

Restaurateurs losing thousands of pounds because of unreliable courier services

08-Apr-2021 By James McAllister and Stefan Chomka

Restaurateurs offering nationwide meal kit deliveries are losing thousands of pounds because of courier services failing to deliver the perishable products by the intended target dates.

Mamma Dough to launch franchise model for nationwide rollout

08-Apr-2021 By Restaurant

South London pizza restaurant group Mamma Dough is launching a franchise model to help it expand across the country.

UK food to go market suffers significant decline in 2020

08-Apr-2021 By James McAllister

The UK food to go market suffered a 45.5% decline in 2020 as the Coronavirus pandemic severely restricted travel and movement, the latest data from Lumina Intelligence shows.

Camile Thai launches 'neighbourhood' kitchen as delivery-only push increases

08-Apr-2021 By Restaurant

Camile Thai Kitchen is opening its first 'neighbourhood' kitchen in the capital as part of its plans to grow its presence in the delivery-only space.