Monday 29/2/16

Morning Advertiser: Pubs warned over sexist recruitment advertising

By Mike Berry, 29-Feb-2016

Licensees who advertise for a barman or waitress could fall foul of equality law and face prosecution, according to new guidance. Read More

Bighospitality: Pubs and bars witness steep rise in contactless spend

By Helen Gilbert, 29-Feb-2016

Contactless payments in pubs and bars leapt up by 188 per cent in 2015, latest figures from Barclaycard show. Read More

Propelinfonews.com: Love Thy Burger to open second venue, in Ipswich town centre: Better burger brand Love Thy Burger plans to open its second venue – in Ipswich town centre. A planning application has been submitted to Ipswich Borough Council to transform what used to be Santander in Westgate Street into a 25-cover restaurant. The company also hopes to run a “small” takeaway business from the site. In the planning bid, Love Thy Burger is described as a “family-run business devoted to providing high-class restaurant facilities in high-street locations, specialising in burgers of all kinds which are prepared on-site using locally sourced produce”. Love Thy Burger formed in 2014 and opened its first restaurant in High Street, Colchester, last year.

Propelinfonews.com: New Afro-Caribbean restaurant concept opens in Corby: A new Afro-Caribbean restaurant concept has opened in Corby, Northamptonshire. Ghanaian chef Nana Konadu has launched Maamalicious in Corporation Street serving her favourite home-cooked food. Dishes include Red Red, which is black-eyed bean stew with deep-fried plantain; fried yam with a type of fish called tilapia, peanut soup known as Nkatsenkwan and a full or half guinea fowl. She told the Northamptonshire Telegraph: “I’ve always wanted to do this. Cooking is my passion. It’s been about waiting for the right time and the right venue and I think that’s here and now.” The restaurant is open from 9.30am until 10pm on weekdays and Sundays, until midnight on Fridays and 1am on Saturdays.

Tuesday 1/3/16

Propelinfonews.com: Dexters Alehouse & Kitchen of Brigg to open in Lincolnshire on 11 March: The 200-year-old former Black Bull pub in Brigg will reopen on Friday, 11 March as Dexters Alehouse & Kitchen of Brigg following a major refurbishment. The venue in Wrawby Street will be the fourth venue of the growing Dexters Alehouse and Kitchen brand. Dave Butler, who runs the Lincolnshire-based multi-site operator Fine Leisure with his partner Dawn Taylor, said their co-investment with Enterprise Inns – included a £150,000 spend on upgrading the kitchens. He said Dexters would employ 30 full and part-time staff, including five chefs, and the business would be a free-trade outlet, open seven days a week. Butler told the Scunthorpe Telegraph: “Our emphasis will be on quality homemade food and fine cask ales and we will be able to cater for up to 170 diners at a time.”

Wednesday 2/3/16

Propelinfonews.com: West End Brewery brew-pub to launch in Leicester city centre at Easter: The West End Brewery, a brew-pub which will sell beer made on the premises, will open in Leicester during Easter weekend (25-28 March). Beers brewed at the venue in Braunstone Gate will be colour-coded, with drinkers able to offer suggestions to brewer father and son John and Josh Gray, who live above the premises. John Gray said: “We will have a core range of three beers and we’re going to run our branding off a colour-coded system in the pub, rather than naming them. We will be brewing on such a small scale that our customers will be able to influence the taste by suggesting there may be more or less of a particular ingredient, and we’ll go with the consensus.” The pair plan to start with a 3.8% pale ale, a 4.2% copper-coloured bitter and a 5% IPA. John Gray said the venue would be a “community pub with pub quizzes, a music night and hopefully a beer club”.

Propelinfonews.com: Freehold of closed JD Wetherspoon pub in Luton for sale: The freehold of the London Hatter in Luton, Bedfordshire, closed by JD Wetherspoon last month, is to be sold at Allsop auction, on Monday, 21 March with a guide price of £850,000 to £900,000. JD Wetherspoon pays a rent of £61,000 per annum, rising by 7.5% every fifth year on a lease expiring in 2041. JD Wetherspoon has a break clause it can exercise in 2026.

Thursday 3/3/16

Morning Advertiser: Pubs warned over barred people pics

By Emily Sutherland, 03-Mar-2016

Licensees who display pictures of barred customers in back-of-house areas risk breaching the Data Protection Act according to head of licensing at JD Wetherspoon Nigel Connor. Read More

Propelinfonews.com: TGI Friday’s to open 75th UK site in Stevenage: TGI Friday’s is to open its 75th site at the Stevenage Leisure Park in mid-April. The restaurant will seat up to 210 guests at one time and will bring 85 new job opportunities to the local area. The focal point of the new restaurant will be the square standalone “island” bar. David Carroll, property director for TGI Friday’s UK, said: “We’re thrilled to be celebrating this huge milestone for Friday’s by welcoming our 75th restaurant to the UK, located in the extremely popular Stevenage Leisure Park. We have been inundated with enquiries from guests who are extremely excited about the highly anticipated opening, and we can’t wait for them to be able to enjoy that Friday’s feeling in their hometown soon.”

Propelinfonews.com: Pieminister opens Nottingham site: Pie specialist Pieminister has launched in Nottingham. Pieminister has invested £300,000 in redeveloping a unit at 57 Long Row that was previously occupied by high street pharmacy chain Boots. Co-founder Jon Simon said Bristol-based Pieminister’s roots can also be traced back to Nottingham. The former Nottingham Trent University student met his business partner Tristan Hogg through fellow undergraduate Romany, who is now his wife. “Our years as Nottingham students were some of the best and to be back in the city feels fantastic,” Simon said. “The social scene seems just as lively as we remember and we hope that the city’s students, shoppers, workers and families will all pop in for a pie. Whether it’s for a quick lunch with work mates, a weekend feast with family or a pie and a cocktail on a night out, we’ve got it covered.” The site will provide space for 146 diners.

Friday 4/3/16

Morning Advertiser: Analysis: Are supermarkets killing pubs?

By Oli Gross, 03-Mar-2016

Supermarkets are able to sell alcohol at a price impossible for pubs to compete with. Ahead of this month’s Budget, what can be done to close the price gap? Oli Gross investigates. Read More

Propelinfonews.com: Multi-siter Hamblin to launch new gin bar concept: Multi-site operator Stephanie Hamblin is to open a new gin bar concept in Market Harborough next Friday (11 March). Gin & Fizz, located above The Waterfront off Leicester Road, will serve a range of speciality gins supplied by Leicestershire producer Burleighs as well as cocktails. Hamblin, who also owns The Waterfront and Foxton Locks Inn, said: “We are very excited to be bringing the first gin bar to the town. Gin has become a hugely popular and hip drink over the past couple of years, and there is a real demand for high quality gin based drinks. We are also delighted to be stocking Burleighs Gin, which is made nearby and is a brand highly respected by gin connoisseurs.” Gin & Fizz will be open from 5pm on Wednesdays to Saturdays.
Barmagazine.co.uk: Desperados launched on draught with schooner serve : Heineken UK is to launch its tequila-flavoured beer Desperados on draught – promoted for serving in schooner glasses. Despite the popularity of spirit-flavoured beers, it will be the first available on draught when it is introduced this month. It builds on the success of Desperadoes which has added £18m in value in sales in the on-trade since its launch in 2011, including £5m in the last 12 months, making it the UK’s fourth biggest packaged lager brand. With a stylish illuminated steel font, Desperados will tap into what Heineken believes is an opportunity for spirit-flavoured beers on draught, especially in high-tempo circuit bars. A new stylish glass is being introduced to support the launch of Desperados on draught. At two thirds the size of a pint, the schooner will be good for operators’ profit margins and support responsible drinking for the 5.9% ABV beer. The launch is further supported with branded bar runners.