George Hersey has been promoted to Group General Manager of the Adam Handling Restaurant Group, just two years after joining the company as GM for the opening of The Frog Hoxton, Iron Stag and Bean & Wheat. He will be responsible for all AHRG’s sites across London. Adam Handling says: “George is a real star of the industry, and so valued in our business His … [Read more...]
Archives for October 2020
Hand washing advice remains constant, ticking health and economic boxes for hospitality
The government’s messaging to businesses and consumers in 2020 sees one message remain constant, and at the top of their list of priorities - wash your hands regularly and thoroughly. The duration of hand washing, advised by government, the NHS and many other health organisations is a minimum of 20 seconds. The government is ticking two boxes at the same time with this … [Read more...]
Boparan confirms acquisition of Gourmet Burger Kitchen
Boparan Restaurant Group (BRG) confirms the acquisition of the GBK burger brand and 35 trading sites, saving over 600 jobs. GBK joins The Cinnamon Collection, Fishworks, Carluccio’s, Slim Chickens, Giraffe and Ed’s Easy Diner, and its purchase gives BRG a 99-strong portfolio of restaurants nationwide with 32 franchised globally. Satnam Leihal, Managing Director of BRG … [Read more...]
Hospitality may be better served by a second full lockdown
The Prime Minister through his latest statements to Parliament and the public at large, has tried to adopt a middle ground position with lockdown measures. Not going into full lockdown across England, and not letting the virus ‘rip’. In so doing he could now be accused of trying to please everyone, but in trying to do so pleases no one. Most noise today criticising the … [Read more...]
Government local lockdowns omit further support for hospitality
Earlier this afternoon in his statement to the House of Commons the Prime Minister outlined new incoming measures to combat the spread of COVID-19. He announced that many areas of England will now face stringent restrictions under a new three-tier set of measures, labelled – medium – high - or very high. Liverpool was the only part of England to immediately move into the ‘very … [Read more...]
Only Food and Courses, fine dining ‘Greasy Spoon’ stylie
Only Food and Courses, a new restaurant and pop-up events business, has launched today, offering guests a modern take on food and interiors inspired by popular culture and culinary trends from the 80s and 90s. The business, developed by Robbie Lorraine and Martyn Barrett, will open its first site in early November at Pop Brixton in a repurposed shipping container. It will … [Read more...]
Boris Johnson needs to step up to the job today, or face being BA’d
Boris Johnson BA'd The Prime Minister is set to address the country today with tough new economic measures designed to shock the nation into lockdown. The risk to the economy is one that many now think the current government is no longer fit to take. Huge sections of the economic fabric of our society now look like they will be sacrificed by the Prime Minister, hospitality is … [Read more...]
Marcus Rashford MBE emphasises ongoing need for Free School Meals
New data from the Food Foundation, released as part of the joint #EndChildFoodPoverty campaign with Marcus Rashford MBE, has revealed extremely high demand for ‘Free School Meals’ this Autumn. Data acquired through a sample survey by Childwise shows that 29% (2.2 million) of children aged 8-17 are registered for Free School Meals, with an astounding 42% of these children … [Read more...]
Duncan O’Rourke announced CEO, Accor, Northern Europe
Accor have announced the promotion of Duncan O'Rourke to CEO of the extended Northern Europe division, which is a merger of the previous Northern, Central, East and New East Europe Teams. In his capacity, he will be responsible for 29 countries including Scandinavia, UK, Benelux, Ireland, Poland and Russia in addition to his current responsibility for Germany, Austria and … [Read more...]
Greene King rent support extended ahead of anticipated pub closures
Greene King Pub Partners has announced all its tied pub tenants will receive at least a 40% rent discount up until Christmas, with pubs that are closed under government measures receiving a 90% rent discount. It brings its estimated financial support for its 975 tied tenants to more than £25m since the Covid-19 pandemic closed the UK’s pubs. All tied tenants were notified … [Read more...]
New autumnal menu now being served at The Dorchester
The Grill at The Dorchester serves up warming autumnal delights to welcome back guests with exciting new menus and fresh flare. Head Chef Tom Booton has crafted sensational dishes, committed to offering an unforgettable experience and a more relaxed approach to The Grill dining experience. Booton’s ever-evolving menu aims to highlight British growers and shines a light on … [Read more...]
Songs of Praise meets The Clink this Sunday on BBC1
BBC1’s Songs of Praise visited The Clink Charity at HM Prison Styal recently to get a view behind the scenes as the restaurant prepares for reopening. Tomorrow afternoon when the programme is aired on BBC 1, reporter Claire McCollum sits down and talks rehabilitation with Clink CEO, Chris Moore. McCollum aims to gain insight to how the work done by The Clink reduces … [Read more...]
Government rationale for 10pm curfew questioned further by Young’s CEO and BBPA
10pm curfew questioned: The British Beer & Pub Association has welcomed the new package of support announced yesterday by Chancellor Rishi Sunak for pubs that will be forced to close in future lockdowns. As part of the package, the Chancellor announced an expanded Job Support Scheme for businesses forced to close, whereby the Government will cover two-thirds of pay for … [Read more...]
UKHospitality welcomes Chancellor’s support, but calls for more
UKHospitality has welcomed the increase in grants for closed hospitality businesses, up to £3,000, but repeated its call for a much more comprehensive package of support for the whole sector to cover rent and other overheads to ease the strain on businesses. UKHospitality, the sector’s trade body, has warned that businesses facing restrictions such as curfew, compounded by … [Read more...]
Hospitality businesses to receive 67% of employee salary funding through next six months
Hospitality businesses that are closed due to stricter Covid-19 lockdown measures will have two-thirds of their employees’ salaries paid by the government. Chancellor Rishi Sunak has just announced the scope added to the Job Support Scheme, a successor to the furlough scheme, and said: "It will provide a safety net for businesses across the UK who are required to temporarily … [Read more...]