Monday 23/2/15
PropelInfonews.com: Steamin’ Billy heads TripAdvisor with Burger and Brews concept: Steamin’ Billy, the brewer and operator of ten pubs led by Billy Allingham, has claimed top spot on TripAdvisor for the whole of Leicestershire for its fledgling Burgers and Brews concept at the Paget pub in Loughborough. The pub is ranked number one out of 1,607 restaurants in Leicestershire.
Bighospitality.co.uk: Half of diners concerned about food safety
By Sophie WittsSophie Witts, 23-Feb-2015
51 per cent of diners are ‘fairly’ or ‘very’ concerned about food safety in UK restaurants, pubs, cafes and takeaways, a report by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has found.
http://www.bighospitality.co.uk/Trends-Reports/Half-of-diners-concerned-about-food-safety
PropelInfonews.com: Bulldog Hotel Group makes design award short-list with in-house scheme: The coaching inn operator Bulldog Hotel Group, whose Talbot site in Oundle, Northamptonshire is currently Routiers Hotel of the Year, has been shortlisted in the Casual Dining Show’s Best-Designed Casual Dining Pub competition for a scheme at the Old Bridge and Coffee House, Holmfirth, West Yorkshire. The scheme was designed in-house, making Bulldog the only finalist not to use an outside design agency.
PropelInfonews.com: Saved Norfolk pub re-opens after adding bakery and cafe: An historic pub in Brockdish, Norfolk, has re-opened for the first time in 18 months after a refurbishment that has added a bakery and cafe to the premises. The Old King’s Head, a Grade-II listed building in The Street with origins dating back to the 13th Century, is now owned by siblings Jonathan Townley and Louise Lees, who purchased the pub a year after its closure in September 2013.With the help of a grant from Norfolk County Council and assistance from the Pub is The Hub scheme, the Old King’s Head has undergone significant interior and exterior renovations, adding a bakery and a cafe to the existing property.
PropelInfonews.com: Camra – 1,047 pubs saved by beer duty cuts: The Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) is calling on the Chancellor of the Exchequer to cut beer duty for a historic third time in next month’s Budget, as a new report estimates 1,047 additional pubs would have closed if the government had not scrapped the beer duty escalator and cut beer duty in 2013 and 2014. Camra said a third cut in beer duty would allow the industry to continue to recover, with beer drinkers, publicans and brewers across the UK all likely to benefit and be raising a glass to the Chancellor once more.
Morningadvertiser.co.uk: Majority of public favour smoking rooms in pubs
By Mike BerryMike Berry, 20-Feb-2015
The majority of the public agree that pubs should be allowed to have private rooms for customers to smoke in if they want to, according to new research.
http://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/General-News/Majority-of-public-favour-smoking-rooms-in-
PropelInfonews.com: Landlady attacks ‘hypocritical’ pub campaigners for trying to get pub listed without telling her: A landlady has attacked her local branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) for trying to get her pub listed as an Asset of Community Value (ACV) without telling her. Lucie Spooner, owner of the Imperial Standard in Aldershot, said the ACV listing being sought by Camra and the Aldershot Civic Society may put off potential buyers as she tries to sell the pub. She told the Aldershot News newspaper: “This has come at the wrong time, because how many potential buyers are going to look up what a local listing means? They will just see ‘listed’, and get put off. The fact they have done this without asking me is my main bugbear. I think they have gone for me purely because they have seen my pub on the market. They are campaigning to save pubs that are not in danger and that they are clearly not drinking in, which does seem a little bit hypocritical.
PropelInfonews.com: Matthew Clark adds 30 producers to premium wine line-up: Matthew Clark, the on-trade drinks supplier, has added more than 30 new premium wine producers to its line-up. The additions to the range will be available to taste at Matthew Clark’s annual London customer event, #WhyWeLoveWine, which takes place at Tobacco Dock, Wapping, East London on 3 March.
Tuesday 24/2/15
PropelInfonews.co.uk: UK’s most sustainable pubs and restaurants named: The Truscott Arms in Maida Vale, whose award-winning Sunday roasts are all served with free-range meat, has been named Sustainable Pub of the Year. Andrew and Mary Jane Fishwick, owners of the Victorian gastro-pub, received the award from Raymond Blanc, President of the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) yesterday. The award recognised The Truscott Arms’ dedication to serving its loyal customers exceptionally well-sourced food and carefully selected, often ultra-local beers and spirits. It’s also committed to meeting the needs of its customers’ with food allergies and is a specialist caterer for coeliacs. It is also a founding member of London Living Wage. Among the other awards presented, Daylesford, with three cafes, and The Captain’s Galley, whose owner and chef Jim Cowie worked as a fish trader and had never so much as boiled an egg before opening his harbourside restaurant in Scrabster, Caithness, were jointly named Sustainable Restaurant of the Year.
Morningadvertiser.co.uk: Low Pay Commission recommends 20p national minimum wage increase
By Mark Wingett, M&C ReportMark Wingett, M&C Report, 24-Feb-2015
The Government has been urged to increase the minimum wage by 3%, as it names and shames hospitality firms that failed to abide by the policy.
PropelInfonews.com: New smokehouse concept to open second site this week: A new smokehouse concept, Blue’s Smokehouse, is set to open its second on Friday (27 February). The brand, set up by entrepreneur Carlos Maidana, launched at a Star Pubs & Bars site, the Red Lion in Bracknell, Berkshire in June last year after a £250,000 co-investment – the site is taking £30,000 a week. Now Maidana is to open a second site at the Twickenham Tavern in Twickenham, Middlesex, also a Star Pubs & Bars site, after a similar co-investment.
Morningadvertiser.co.uk: Pubs warned over energy meter tampering
By Ellie BothwellEllie Bothwell, 24-Feb-2015
A crime-fighting charity has launched a campaign to prevent meter tampering and energy theft, following the discovery that a number of pub licensees meddled with their supplies in order to save money.
http://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/General-News/Pubs-warned-over-energy-meter-tampering
PropelInfonews.com: Jamie Oliver’s parents apply to add pizza oven at pub: Jamie Oliver’s parents, Trevor and Sally Oliver, have applied to add a pizza oven to their pub, the Cricketers in Clavering, Essex. Sally Oliver rebutted claims that the pub was struggling, insisting sales had risen “year on year” since 2012. The pub is the biggest employer in the area, with 60 members of staff.
PropelInfonews.com: Provenance Inns seeks to expand its headquarters: Provenance Inns, which announced the launch of a new brand, Yorkshire Steakhouse & Grill, last week, is looking to expand its headquarters to cope with its growth. The company, founded by Chris Blundell and leisure entrepreneur Michael Ibbotson in 2009 with the acquisition of three North Yorkshire pubs, has now grown to seven pubs and 270 employees. Its current HQ is based in two separate site offices at the Punch Bowl in Marton cum Grafton, near Harrogate, which it acquired three years ago, while group meetings are currently held at one of the company’s pubs, causing disruption to front-of-house business.
Wednesday 25/2/15
Bighospitality.co.uk: Hospitality employers named and shamed for failing to pay minimum wage
By Carina Perkins+Carina Perkins, 24-Feb-2015
Hospitality businesses were among 70 employers ‘named and shamed’ by the government today (24 Feb) for failing to pay their workers national minimum wage.
Morningadvertiser.co.uk: Venture pubco takes on first Star site
By James Wallin, M&C ReportJames Wallin, M&C Report, 25-Feb-2015
Multiple operator, Venture Pub Company has taken on its first pub with Star Pubs & Bars, The Bricklayer’s Arms in Leicester, bringing its estate to a total of 18 sites.
http://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/Company-City-News/Venture-pubco-takes-on-first-Star-site
Thursday 26/2/15
PropelInfonews.com: Celebrity chef to open first pub with novel ‘maturing meat’ fridge: The celebrity chef Colin McGurran, who has appeared on Great British Menu and operates the Winteringham Fields restaurant in Lincolnshire, will open his first pub, the Hope and Anchor pub in nearby South Ferriby, on Sunday 22 March. The main focus of the menu will be “British favourites and grill”, with McGurran having invested in a state-of-the art MaturMeat fridge from Italy, supposedly the first in the UK, which will hold cuts of meat as they age from 20 to 40 days. McGurran bought the pub after it was destroyed by floodwater in the December 2013 tidal surge.
Morningadvertiser.co.uk: Pubs enjoy a happy Christmas with food and drink sales up
By Ruth Williams, M&C ReportRuth Williams, M&C Report, 26-Feb-2015
A total of 165 million visits were made to pubs, bars and clubs over the festive period – an increase of 15 million from the previous year – with total food and drink sales up 2% on the 2013 period.
PropelInfonews.com: Bespoke Inns opens pub with micro-brewery: Bespoke Inns, the multi-site operator led by former Marston’s executive Alan Shepherd, has re-opened the Boot Inn in Repton, Derbyshire with a micro-brewery and nine boutique bedrooms.
Sterling Stock Auditors: Greene King Leisure Tracker reveals 13% Increase on Eating Out year on year. Read More
Friday 27/2/15
Bighospitality.co.uk: Half of hospitality businesses make use of zero hour contracts
By Sophie WittsSophie Witts, 27-Feb-2015
Fifty-three per cent of hospitality businesses make use of zero-hour contracts, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Morningadvertiser.co.uk: Norfolk pub re-opens with bakery and community cafe
By Ellie BothwellEllie Bothwell, 27-Feb-2015
A village pub dating back to the 13th century has re-opened its doors with a bakery and community cafe following an 18-month closure.