Casual Dining

JKS Restaurants launches Ambassador General Store

12-Oct-2020 By Joe Lutrario

JKS Restaurants has launched an online store that brings together its three top-end Indian brands to offer restaurant-prepared meal boxes, alcoholic drinks and pantry items nationwide.

Diners have new-found concern for the environment post lockdown, says poll

12-Oct-2020 By Restaurant

Diners have a new-found concern for the environment with a growing number more willing to opt for a sustainable dish on a restaurant menu, according to new research by the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA).

Hospitality leaders prepare legal challenge to "disproportionate and unjust" Coronavirus lockdowns

12-Oct-2020 By Restaurant

England’s Night Time Economy and hospitality leaders are preparing a legal challenge to the Coronavirus local lockdowns set to be put in place by the Government later today (12 October).

Manchester MPs say they won't support tier three measures for the city

12-Oct-2020 By Restaurant

Manchester MPs say they will not support the city being put into tier three of the lockdown measures set to be unveiled today (12 October) by the Government.

Northern pubs braced for closures as Government prepares to unveil three-tier alert system

12-Oct-2020 By James McAllister

The Prime Minister will lay out new Coronavirus rules today (12 October) that will see pubs and bars in areas with the highest infection rate forced to close.

G-A-Y owner pushes ahead with curfew legal challenge after 'dither and delay' by Government

09-Oct-2020 By James McAllister

The owner of London’s G-A-Y nightclub in Soho is to proceed with his a legal challenge against the Government's 10pm curfew on hospitality businesses.

Government to pay two-thirds of workers' wages for businesses hit by lockdown

09-Oct-2020 By James McAllister

Rishi Sunak has announced that the Government will cover two-thirds of workers’ wages if their employer's business is forced to close as a result of local Coronavirus lockdown restrictions.

Latest opening: Akoko

09-Oct-2020 By Joe Lutrario

London’s West African dining scene can be considered well and truly shaken up following the arrival of this progressive Fitzrovia fine dining restaurant.

Friday Five: the week's top news

09-Oct-2020 By James McAllister

A particularly difficult week for the hospitality sector saw restaurants and pubs in central Scotland being ordered to close; rumours of lockdowns in the north; and Greene King announcing hundreds of redundancies.

CMA approves Carlsberg and Marston's merger

09-Oct-2020 By James McAllister

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has the cleared the proposed £780m merger of Marston’s brewing business with Carlsberg UK.

Hide's Hideaway spin-off to go permanent in Mayfair

09-Oct-2020 By Joe Lutrario

Hide’s more casual spin-off Hideaway is to open a permanent site in Mayfair following successful pop-ups at Burlington Arcade and Chelsea Barracks last year.

Glasgow's Ubiquitous Chip owner calls on hospitality to demonstrate plight of workers

09-Oct-2020 By Restaurant

The owner of popular Glasgow restaurant Ubiquitous Chip is calling on the industry to come together to demonstrate the number of livelihoods that are at stake as a result of the Scottish Government’s latest restrictions on hospitality.

Products

Shopping Forecast: the latest product launches

09-Oct-2020 By Restaurant

This month's selection of product news stories includes a new standard for Irish beef and a multi-purpose non-chemical cleaning solution that has been proven to kill off coronaviruses.

Local lockdowns and 10pm curfew cause a slide in high street footfall numbers

09-Oct-2020 By Restaurant

Footfall in the UK’s high streets fell 34.6% year on year with the 10pm curfew having an impact on consumer numbers.

Ministers accused of using 'cobbled together' statistics to justify hospitality closures

09-Oct-2020 By James McAllister

MPs claim to have been shown 'meaningless' figures during a presentation by Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty to help 'retrospectively' prove need for closures of hospitality venues in the north.

Oakman Group records highest sales quarter in its history

09-Oct-2020 By Restaurant

The Oakman Group, which includes the Oakman Inns and Ashmore Inns pub brands, has recorded its highest sales quarter in the company’s history.

UKHospitality calls for new employment support to match previous furlough levels

09-Oct-2020 By James McAllister

Trade body UKHospitality has this morning (9 Ocotber) called for levels of employment support for hospitality to be in line with the previous furlough scheme.

Two thirds of hospitality operators will collapse in six months without support, says poll

09-Oct-2020 By Stefan Chomka

Almost two thirds of hospitality operators now don’t believe they can survive the next six months of a 10pm curfew, according to the latest weekly Hospitality Leaders Poll.

Sunak set to introduce local furlough for businesses hit by lockdown

09-Oct-2020 By James McAllister

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is set to announce a local furlough scheme designed to support businesses in areas hit by local lockdowns.

The Lowdown: The closure of Cineworld

08-Oct-2020 By Joe Lutrario

The temporary shutdown of the world’s second biggest cinema operator has big implications for the restaurant sector, casual dining in particular.

Pre-pack sales to face mandatory independent scrutiny

08-Oct-2020 By James McAllister

New laws will require mandatory independent scrutiny of pre-pack administration sales where connected parties - such as the insolvent company’s existing directors or shareholders - are involved in the purchase.

Covent Garden operators offer October discounts to entice customers

08-Oct-2020 By James McAllister

A number of restaurants and pubs in London's Covent Garden are offering customers 20% off final bills during October in a bid to entice diners to book an early dinner.

Rudie’s Jerk Shack to open in Brixton Village

08-Oct-2020 By Restaurant

Caribbean restaurant Rudie’s Jerk Shack will open a third London site next month, in Brixton Village.

"This is worse than the lockdown" - Scottish restaurateurs react to new restrictions

08-Oct-2020 By James McAllister

Coronavirus restrictions set to be imposed on Scotland, which will see all restaurants in Glasgow and Edinburgh forced to close, have been met with anger and despair by industry voices.

Peach Pubs warns second national lockdown would be ‘hugely costly’

08-Oct-2020 By Restaurant

Peach Pubs says it ‘is in as good a place as any hospitality business’ as it releases its 2019 results but warns that a second national lockdown would be ‘hugely costly’.

Hospitality in north of England face fresh restrictions with closures likely

08-Oct-2020 By James McAllister

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is drawing up plans to impose further Coronavirus lockdown restrictions on pubs and restaurants across the north of England, with closures likely in many areas.

Tech hub

Restaurant tech growing in importance among customers, research finds

07-Oct-2020 By Restaurant

Restaurant technology, including pay-at-table apps, has grown in importance among restaurant goers as a result of Government restrictions imposed to help stop the spread of Coronavirus, a new report has found.

Sturgeon 'signs death sentence' for Scottish hospitality as new restrictions announced

07-Oct-2020 By James McAllister

Hospitality businesses in central Scotland will be required to close for 16 days from Friday, with licensed premises across the rest of the country temporarily banned from selling alcohol indoors.

Le Pain Quotidien appoints new MD as the group reopens from lockdown

07-Oct-2020 By Restaurant

Le Pain Quotidien has appointed Steven Whibley, formerly of Gail’s Bakery and an original franchisee of Le Pain Quotidien UK, as its new managing director to steer the company as it emerges from lockdown.

Greene King set for pub closures with 800 jobs at risk

07-Oct-2020 By James McAllister

Greene King is to close dozens of sites and axe hundreds of jobs following a slump in trade exacerbated by the Government’s 10pm curfew on hospitality businesses.

UK events industry faces over 400,000 job losses without further Government support

07-Oct-2020 By James McAllister

Over 400,000 jobs in the UK events industry could be lost by the end of the year according to a survey carried out by online event planning platform Feast It.

MPs told of ‘severe and devastating impact’ of curfew

07-Oct-2020 By Finn Scott-Delany

UKHospitality CEO Kate Nicholls has urged MPs to rethink the 10pm curfew, saying it was “crippling hospitality businesses”.

Government delays curfew vote amid Tory rebellion

07-Oct-2020 By James McAllister

The Government has been forced to delay a parliamentary vote on the 10pm curfew in the face of growing backbench opposition to the measure.

Terry Laybourne to open Café 21 at Fenwick in York

07-Oct-2020 By Restaurant

Restaurateur Terry Laybourne will open Café 21 at Fenwick in York under his 21 Hospitality Group.

Scottish hospitality braced for further restrictions

07-Oct-2020 By James McAllister

Restaurants, pubs and bars in Scotland could face fresh restrictions and even be forced to close completely under new Coronavirus lockdown measures due to be announced later today (7 October).

US sandwich chain Which Wich finally rolls out

06-Oct-2020 By Joe Lutrario

Which Wich is finally expanding its UK operations with the launch of dark kitchens in Battersea and Bethnal Green.

Latest opening: Hawkerman

06-Oct-2020 By Joe Lutrario

Highly-rated Brighton Indian The Chilli Pickle is offering its lunchtime diners a taste of the hawker markets of Singapore.

Night-time economy pleads for further support after curfew prompts mass redundancies

06-Oct-2020 By James McAllister

A perfect storm of strict operating restrictions and lack of targeted financial support has led to mass job cuts across the night-time economy.

The Restaurant Group reports 'very encouraging trading' in interim results

06-Oct-2020 By Restaurant

The Restaurant Group says it has experienced very encouraging trading since reopening its estate post lockdown and that its response to the Coronavirus pandemic has resulted in a ‘higher quality, diversified estate’.

Tory rebels look to call time on curfew

06-Oct-2020 By James McAllister

The end of the 10pm curfew imposed on hospitality businesses could be in sight after rebel Conservatives said they can muster the votes needed to overturn the Government's majority.

Mayor of London calls for "rapid review" of 10pm curfew

05-Oct-2020 By Restaurant

Sadiq Khan says he is pushing for a rapid review of the 10pm curfew imposed on hospitality businesses.

Deliveroo plans £2bn IPO

05-Oct-2020 By James McAllister

Deliveroo has begun working on plans for an initial public offering (IPO) after appointing investment bank Goldman Sachs to advise on the process.

William Reed announces inaugural UK Food & Drink Week for 2021

05-Oct-2020 By James McAllister

BigHospitality and Restaurant publisher William Reed is to bring together more than 1,000 brands next year for a three-day event in Birmingham to celebrate and support the industry.

Books

Book review: The Art & Science of Foodpairing

05-Oct-2020 By Stefan Chomka

Peter Coucquyt, Bernard Lahousse and Johan Langenbick's deep dive into flavour combinations will give food for thought for all levels of chefs.

G-A-Y nightclub owner launches legal challenge against 10pm curfew

05-Oct-2020 By James McAllister

The owner of London’s G-A-Y nightclub in Soho is to launch a legal challenge against the Government’s 10pm curfew.

Rishi Sunak defends Eat Out to Help Out scheme

05-Oct-2020 By Restaurant

Rishi Sunak has defended the Government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme, which ran for the duration of August.

Pub sector urges a Government 'change of tack' to avoid £7.4bn hit to economy

05-Oct-2020 By Restaurant

The value of the British beer and pub sector will take a £7.4bn hit, with a third of jobs lost in the industry, unless the Government changes its approach to the Coronavirus pandemic, the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) has warned.

Emergency fund announced for hospitality businesses in Liverpool City Region

05-Oct-2020 By James McAllister

Local authority leaders in the Liverpool City Region have announced an emergency fund of £40m to support businesses in the hospitality and leisure sector impacted by local lockdown restrictions.

Friday five: The week’s top stories

02-Oct-2020 By Restaurant

Our most read stories this week include chef Matt Worswick taking on the Savoy Grill; the Vacherin’s Nick Smith being crowned National Chef of the Year; and the launch of the Cancel The Curfew campaign.

Casa do Frango to launch Havana-inspired bar in Canary Wharf

02-Oct-2020 By Joe Lutrario

The duo behind Casa do Frango are teaming up with London Venezualan street food operator Pabellón to launch a Canary Wharf bar inspired by pre-revolutionary Havana.