Monday 14/3/16
Here is our Hospitality News Roundup from around the country for week commencing 14th March. If we’ve missed anything please add in the comments below:
Bighospitality.co.uk: Zero-hours contracts on the decline in hospitality
By Sophie Witts, 11-Mar-2016
The number of hospitality businesses employing staff on zero-hours contracts has halved since 2014, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Read More
Propelinfonews.com: Good Food Guide – being rushed through dinner is customers’ biggest annoyance: A Dining Out survey by The Waitrose Good Food Guide, ahead of the launch of its annual reader-nominated restaurant awards, has found four out of five diners want tap water on their table. The survey found 26% of customers were annoyed the most about being rushed through dinner, and 57% of those polled want to be offered a doggy bag (but a quarter of men don’t need one). A total of 59% of those surveyed said they were brave enough to ask for a service charge to be removed from the bill after poor service. Editor Elizabeth Carter said: “While there’s no doubt that diners are looking for excellent value from their local restaurants, 80% said free tap water should automatically be put on the table and being rushed through a meal is their biggest annoyance. As a regular victim of the two-hour booking slot and that other common wheeze, the second sitting, I believe local restaurants can offer genuine value, and a point of difference, by giving diners the time to enjoy a meal at a pace that suits them.”
Propelinfonews.com: Casual Dining Group to open Belgo in Nottingham in April: Casual Dining Group will open it first Belgo outside of London in Nottingham in Weekday Cross, in the Lace Market, on Wednesday, 6 April, creating 40 jobs. The premises, which used to be Spanish tapas bar La Tasca, are currently undergoing a £550,000 refurbishment. Belgo spokeswoman Amber Staynings said: “We are delighted to be creating a new Belgo in Nottingham. It’s such a fantastic, cosmopolitan city and we hope our bold Belgian dining and drinking experience will fit right in. We can’t wait to open our doors.” The brand has five sites across London, including Covent Garden and Soho. The Nottingham branch, over two floors with room for 180 diners, will have quirky feature lighting, big banquette seating, reclaimed wood booths, eclectic artwork and a Belgian market theme. The first floor “Zot Loft” will offer Belgo’s beer selection – including Brugse Zot, a blond beer brewed by Bruges’ famous Halve Mann Brewery, or cocktails and schnapps, including a 32 shot stick for the bold.
Propelinfonews.com: New restaurant, bar and coffee concept launches in Corby: A new restaurant, bar and coffee concept has launched in Corby, Northamptonshire. The Glasshouse in Queen’s Square has a coffee shop downstairs, called the Coffee Foundry, and a restaurant and bar upstairs. A spokeswoman told the Northamptonshire Telegraph: “It’s fairly upmarket, with live music and food made with local ingredients. We wanted to step away from what the chain restaurants are offering here and give people something unique.” The Glasshouse is initially serving drinks and light refreshments into the early evening but will launch a full menu on Wednesday, 23 March.
Tuesday 15/3/16
Morning Advertiser: Make Some Noise: Music venues protected against nearby developments
By Oli Gross, 15-Mar-2016
Music venues have been given much-needed protection against potential nearby developments thanks to new Government legislation.
Morning Advertiser: David Cameron announces increases to the minimum wage
By Emily Sutherland, 14-Mar-2016
Prime Minister David Cameron has announced increases in the national minimum wage.
Bighospitality.co.uk: Sajid Javid: Apprenticeship levy is ‘nothing to be afraid of’
By Sophie Witts, 14-Mar-2016
Sajid Javid has assured businesses that the upcoming apprenticeship levy is ‘nothing to be afraid of’. Read More
Hospitalityandcateringnews.com: The Varsity Hotel & Spa to open new £2 million restaurant: The Varsity Hotel & Spa on Thompson’s Lane is to launch an all-day skyline bar and restaurant, transforming its entire top tier into a new dining destination for the city and its residents.Opening from the end of April to guests and locals alike, The Varsity is investing £2 million to launch the restaurant, which is projected to add at least 40 jobs to the local economy. The 120 cover bar and restaurant will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as a weekend brunch offering. It will be housed on the sixth floor, below the hotel’s iconic rooftop garden but unlike the popular space above, it will be open all year round, in response to huge customer demand. Floor to ceiling windows throughout and two spectacular terraces will provide diners with a breath-taking panorama of historic Cambridge and its beautiful architecture, from St John’s College spires to the lush green of Midsummer Common and the sight of punts gliding down the picturesque River Cam. The Varsity’s unparalleled views have attracted a number of A-listers over the years, including the Beckhams, Daniel Craig, Colin Firth, Rachel Weisz, Jeremy Irons, Ralph Fiennes as well as the families of Royal Households. Now everyone will be able to enjoy these incredible sights whilst dining. The new bar and restaurant will complement the well-established restaurant, The River Bar Steakhouse & Grill, which is committed to serving the most tender, full flavoured steak, only using the finest prime beef, aged for 28 days. Roberto Pintus, General Manager of The Varsity, says: “We are extremely pleased to announce the launch of a brand new bar and restaurant in Cambridge. This opening will add at least 40 jobs to the local economy and will provide the city with a brand new dining destination and a completely new offering, giving both locals and our hotel guests incredible food and beautiful views in equal measure.”
Wednesday 16/3/16
Bighospitality.co.uk: Budget 2016: Sugar tax, business rate relief, beer duty freeze
By Sophie Witts & Emma Eversham, 16-Mar-2016
Chancellor George Osborne announced a range of measures to help hospitality businesses, including a freeze in beer duty, business rates support and a rise in the corporation stamp duty threshold in today’s Budget, while also bowing to pressure to introduce a sugar tax on soft drinks. Read More
Propelinfonews.com: Steamin’ Billy Brewing launches pub at Leicester Racecourse: Leicestershire-based brewer and retailer Steamin’ Billy Brewing, led by Billy Allingham, has opened a pub at Leicester Racecourse. The Winning Post had been closed for a number of years but now becomes the 12th pub in the company’s portfolio. The pub, which is located in the Premier Stand, will be open on race days, with the next meeting on Friday, 8 April, at the start of the flat-racing season. The company described The Winning Post as a “quirky, equestrian-themed bar”, with stools made from saddles and decorated with old wine cases.
Thursday 17/3/16
Golfclubmanagement.net: Huge rise in golf clubs reporting growth in last five years: The number of British private members’ golf clubs that have reported financial growth has shot up from just a third in 2011 to well over a half according to a new survey. The Hillier Hopkins poll of 101 clubs found that 56 percent of clubs are now growing and just five percent are still making a loss. A second major trend that has taken place, and possibly related to the first, is that nearly a third of private members’ golf clubs (30 percent) now offer some form of flexible membership scheme, particularly a credit-based offering. The increase in growth perhaps also explains a sharp rise in expenditure between 2013 and 2015 on clubs’ clubhouses. In those two years the percentage of clubs investing in their buildings rose from 68 to 84 percent. Robert Twydle, golf club partner at Hillier Hopkins, warned that, despite the good news, serious challenges remain for golf clubs. “The results of this year’s survey on the face of it would suggest a ‘steady as she goes’ attitude is satisfactory, but actually the results show a slow decline in performance,” he said. “Costs have risen slightly and there is still a continuing decline in member numbers. The age profile at most clubs remains stubbornly high with the survey actually reporting an increase in the aged 50-plus bracket [61 percent of members fall into this age category].” Twydle added that while society income has generally dropped, membership income has increased for clubs, thanks to a rise in prices. He also added that many clubs have been making their clubs more welcoming by abolishing joining fees – this has dropped from two-thirds of respondents to less than half in just one year – and increasing availability of their facilities to non-members. Other results of the survey are that, despite calls from the people such as Carin Koch for clubs to abolish dress codes in order to attract more women to the game, 97 percent of clubs have some form of dress code. With regards to the male / female ratio at clubs, the results found that over 70 percent of playing members at respondent clubs are adult males and less than half of the golf clubs said their female memberships were rising. Six percent of golf clubs restrict women from becoming members, according to the data. Another cause for concern is that there has been a decline in the average spend at a golf club’s bar and restaurant in the last year – the number of clubs reporting that they brought in more than £150,000 from their food and beverage facility dropped from 46 to 38 percent in a year. “A third of clubs reported growth in 2011, 38 percent in 2012, 42 percent in 2013, 55 percent in 2014 and 56 percent in 2015,” reported Twydle.
Nottingham Post: Meet the family behind Nottingham’s newest restaurant SaltBox: The ground floor of the imposing Ice House block next to the Motorpoint Arena is finally being developed into a new restaurant. Jeremy Lewis hears from the restaurateurs behind the plan. Pasquale and Dina Iacovitti brought some Italian sunshine to the Nottingham catering scene. The former was from Foggia and the latter from Padua, where her family ran a trattoria called Savai. The couple brought the name with them when they emigrated to Britain. Their restaurant: popular Pizzeria Savai, tucked away in little Poplar Street on the edge of the London Road roundabout. Sadly Dina is no longer with us but the all-knowing Pasquale is still on the premises, having watched sons Mick and Tony develop the restaurant – and a business interest in a tricky site up the hill in Bellar Gate. Read More
Morning Advertiser: Beer quality issues cost pubs £300m in lost profit
By Ed Bedington+, 17-Mar-2016
Quality issues on beer could be costing the pub sector more than £300 million a year in profit, a new report has claimed. Read More
Propelinfonews.com: 90% of drinkers demand to know more about what’s in their beer: A new study of British drinking habits has revealed consumers have become more selective in the beer they drink as the rise of craft-brewed ales continues to rise, with 90% interested in learning more about different beers and two-thirds wanting to know more about the ingredients. In the report by the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA), 53% of respondents also believed it was important beer was brewed in the UK, with 46% believing craft beer is “made by small brewers rather than large corporations”. The report also revealed 24% of women are drinking more beer than they did two or three years ago. In total, 900 people were surveyed as part of the report that will be presented today (Thursday, 17 March) at the BeerX conference in Sheffield, organised by SIBA. Managing director Mike Benner said: “Just as wine drinkers understand the importance of different grape varieties, today’s beer drinkers are increasingly curious about different styles and what gives each beer its unique flavours. There has never been more choice and quality available to beer drinkers than there is right now and this is clearly reflected in the attitudes presented in this consumer research. For the vast majority of men and women who say they don’t like beer, what they really mean is ‘I haven’t found a beer I like’ – which was understandable when the choices were so limited. But the fact is we now have more different styles of beer being brewed in the UK than ever before. The flavour spectrum of beer has expanded massively in recent years and this has gone a long way to attracting new drinkers, including women.” BeerX, which showcases beer from UK independent craft brewers, runs until Saturday (19 March).
Friday 18/3/16
Morning Advertiser: Allergens: ‘May contain’ labelling unlikely to protect against prosecution
By Nicholas Robinson+, 17-Mar-2016
‘May contain’ warnings on pub menus to alert customers to potential food allergens in dishes may not be enough to safeguard operators against prosecution, an expert has warned.