BT Sports reports more than 24,000 commercial customers: BT Sport has revealed that more than 24,000 commercial premises have taken its sports service, and that 30% of pubs are now subscribers. It says independent research now shows that BT Sport is in more pubs than Sky. Bruce Cuthbert, BT's director for commercial customers, said: “For BT Sport to have become an established feature of so many businesses in just 15 months is a tremendous achievement and reflects our underlying desire to show premium sports without the premium price. To overtake Sky, who have been in this market for 20 years, in our second season, is astonishing. Pubs and hotels up and down the country that were previously priced out of the market are now able to offer their customers access to some of the best live sporting action, without having to change their core customer offer. From August 2015, BT Sport will offer exclusive live midweek top-flight football action from the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League, which will help our customers drive even more business throughout the week.”

Luke Johnson becomes non-executive chairman of TellTheChef: Sector investor Luke Johnson has become non-executive chairman of the hospitality pre-ordering service TellTheChef after taking a stake in the business. TellTheChef was founded in 2009 by restaurateur Andrew Norton, when he could not find a simple system to automate and manage pre-orders at his Oxford restaurant, the Jam Factory. The online operation removes the need for manual order-taking and paperwork and generates data and feedback. TellTheChef is used by more than 300 businesses and venues across the UK, including Malmaison hotels and the Royal Opera House, as well as businesses in Norway and Australia. Johnson said: "Managing group bookings is time-consuming and prone to human error. TellTheChef makes pre-orders easy and creates a direct link with each customer that helps restaurants grow their customer base and obtain detailed feedback data. As a simple innovation, that solves a big problem."

Company News:

Miller Brands UK line up three more tankovna installations: Miller Brands has three more UK installations lined up for its tankovna beer dispense system, two of them outside London, the company's UK managing director Gary Haigh has reported. He said: “We choose outlets extremely carefully – they need to have really good beer through-put, able to sell the beer in two to four days. We have three more installations in the pipeline, two of them outside London.” The latest installation was at Charlie McVeigh’s Seething Lane site near the Tower of London. Haigh said the company’s target for distribution in the on-trade is “very measured’ with 800 extra outlets a year as it supports the premiumisation of the sector with premium brands – the average on-trade selling price for a pint of Peroni is £4.39.

Draft House to soft-launch Birdcage at the end of the month: Draft House, led by Charlie McVeigh, will soft-launch its sixth pub, the Birdcage, in Bethnal Green, East London, between 27 and 29 December. It will serve pie, mash and liquor and craft beer. McVeigh told his database by e-mail: “The Birdcage pub has stood proudly at the start of Columbia Market since 1760 and found infamy 70 years later when it became the backdrop for the 1832 "bodysnatchers" trial at the Old Bailey. Of late it has been better known for its Bacchanalian weekend karaoke. No doubt a few hackles may rise at the idea of us non-East Enders taking on responsibility for all this heritage. So let's deal with that head-on. Firstly, the pub was on its knees financially, yet another victim of this country's rapacious beer taxation and ludicrous over-regulation of pubs. Secondly, we're working closely with John Farnham, who lives next door and is the straight-talking owner of the freehold who, together with his lovely wife Teresa, grew up on Columbia Road and ran the pub for 30 years until two years ago. John and I are determined that the Birdcage will be restored to its former glory. Thirdly, without our intervention there might not have been a Birdcage anymore. The pub might have joined the hundreds of other blank-faced London boozers which are now houses, Tesco Metros or just not there at all. Fourthly, names are important. And this pub will always be called the Birdcage.”

Simon Longbottom settles in Stonegate chief executive chair: The long wait for Simon Longbottom’s arrival at Stonegate Pub Company as its new chief executive ended last week (3 November), it has been revealed. Longbottom has moved across from heading Greene King’s tenanted division, but his arrival was delayed after part of his notice period was enforced. Previous chief executive Toby Smith worked an extended notice period before leaving last month to head the London pub and bar operator Novus.

More than 600 Greene King pubs to support ITV’s Text Santa appeal: The pub retailer and brewer Greene King has announced its support for ITV's Text Santa fundraising appeal by hosting pub quizzes across the country on Monday 1 December. More than 600 Greene King pubs will take part in the national pub quiz in a bid to raise funds for Text Santa's six chosen charities. ITV's Text Santa appeal, now in its fourth year, will raise money for Teenage Cancer Trust, Guide Dogs, WellChild, Marie Curie Cancer Care, Alzheimer's Society and Together for Short Lives. All money donated goes directly to the charities. Rooney Anand, Greene King's chief executive officer, said: "We are really pleased to be part of the ITV Text Santa appeal. More than 600 of our pubs will be hosting quizzes and our employees and customers will be working hard to raise as much money as possible for the important chosen charities. As a pub retailer, we know the importance of supporting the local community and the Text Santa appeal does just that by focusing on charities that provide help within communities. Good luck to all the quiz teams and we hope everyone has a great time as well as raising lots of money."

Nando’s begins westward expansion in the US with three Chicago openings in 2015: Nando’s will open three locations in Chicago next year as part of an expansion westward from the US East Coast. The chain currently has 20 locations in the United States, all in and around Baltimore and Washington. Its first Chicago store will be the West Loop on West Randolph Street, with an opening planned for the spring. Two more locations on the North Side follow in the summer and autumn - first in Lincoln Park in the yet-to-be-built New City development, and then one in Lakeview.

Pub operator Cubitt House to launch sister company Open House: The founders of the pub operator Cubitt House are to launch a sister company called Open House. Its first venue, Percy & Founders, a new 200-cover restaurant & bar, is scheduled to open in March 2015 in Fitzrovia, central London. Percy & Founders, which will be open all day, every day, will be an "exciting new social destination offering Londoners everything from a morning coffee or breakfast through to lunch, dinner and evening cocktails," according to the company, who said the venue would welcome "both reservations and casual walk-ins". The menu will be "simple British and modern European food". Diego Cardoso, the former head chef at Angela Hartnett’s Murano, has been appointed as executive chef. Open House said Percy & Founders "marks the group’s evolution from the traditional pub to more contemporary all day dining venues, set in beautifully designed informal surroundings."
 
Pizza Hut UK gives £10m delivery service ad budget to O&M: Pizza Hut has awarded the £10m advertising account for its UK delivery service to Ogilvy & Mather, the website Campaignlive reports. The move comes before a marketing drive to modernise perceptions of the business. O&M, which was awarded the UK business without a pitch, will now be the lead creative and strategic UK agency for Pizza Hut. The agency already works with Pizza Hut, and other brands owned by its parent company Yum! Brands, in other global markets. It has been asked to develop a series of integrated campaigns to make Pizza Hut "more relevant for today’s consumers". Sandeep Kataria, the general manager of Pizza Hut UK and Ireland, said: "We want to tap into the creative excellence and strategic rigour synonymous with the Ogilvy network." The restaurant side of Pizza Hut UK, which is now a separate company, began a creative review of its own advertising last month.

Huddersfield chef opens cocktail bar and has deli products listed in Tesco and Asda: The Huddersfield chef and restaurateur Barrington Douglas has opened Discovery Lounge Cocktail Bar in premises next door to his award-winning Discovery Bay Caribbean restaurant in Wood Street, Huddersfield. He also operates a deli  in nearby St Peter’s Street, while Barrington’s jerk pork pie will hit the shelves at 50 regional branches of Tesco from 10 December, and his hot pepper sauce and two chutneys – red onion and pimento and tomato and Scotch bonnet – will be trialled in Asda from April. “These are exciting times,” he said.

Wetherspoon pub conversion in Edinburgh turned down: Plans by JD Wetherspoon to turn the former Classic cinema and bingo hall in Nicolson Street, Edinburgh have been thrown out by planning officials. Planners said the 4,000 sq ft pub, over two storeys, would cause “an unacceptable increase in noise, odours and disturbance, having a detrimental effect on nearby residents”. The company is seeking to turn two other sites in Edinburgh, in Victoria Street and at the former Picture House in Lothian Road, into pubs.

Masterchef semi-finalist sets up restaurant in her garden: The Masterchef semi-finalist Kathryn Minchew is to launch a pop-up restaurant in her garden shed called The Studio at the end of this month. The restaurant is described as "a rustic retreat where you are seated on reindeer skin covered benches around a crackling fire". At least one element of the meal is cooked in front of customers as they dine from wooden plates and drink from handmade cups. It launches on 28 November and will open only on alternate Friday nights and for private hire. The Studio was inspired by Minchew's recent trip to Tast-Ller in Barcelona. She said: "Tast-Ller is located in an apartment in the city, behind a perfectly ordinary door ,where the secret nature of the location adds to the thrill of chef Mikel Rivas Nuria Peinador’s tasting menu. I’m something of an introvert and the noise and drama of working in a restaurant never appealed to me. I like to work quietly and methodically according to my own schedule. Over the years I have gathered and polished my skills while I waited for an idea as to how I could turn them into an enterprise. I already had a Kota hut in my garden which I called the studio. When I read a review of Tast-Ller that described it as not being a restaurant but a studio, I realised I had the perfect venue for doing something similar." Kota huts are arctic dwellings that feature a central fire surrounded by benches.

Modern Chinese restaurant Chai Wu to launch in Harrods: Chai Wu, a new 90-cover modern Chinese restaurant, will open on the fifth floor of Harrods in Central London in January 2015. Chef Bihu Xie, who specialises in Chinese cookery, has created a diverse menu, overseen by Ian Pengelley, the group executive chef. Starters include soups, dim sum and small dishes such as Chilean sea-bass dumplings with gold leaf, and a Wagyu and black pepper puff. For mains, diners have the option of à la carte dishes or fresh meat, fish and vegetables grilled to order, such as poussin with spicy chilli-lime dressing. Signature plates and specialities will include Beijing duck, Alaskan king crab with soy glaze, and lotus root and lily bulb in a spicy toban sauce.
 
Park Leisure to invest £800,000 in Italian restaurant: Park Leisure is to invest £800,000 in a new Italian restaurant and education centre on Par Beach in Cornwall. The company owns the nearby Par Sands Holiday Park. Demolition of the existing cafe finally began on Monday after a five-year wait for planning approval. Park Leisure said the new and improved vision for the facility “reflected the five-star standards that Park Leisure prides itself on.” The company said it hoped to open the restaurant next summer. Park Leisure’s managing director, Miles Dewhurst, said: “We will not only be creating a luxury eatery for Par Village that looks at home in the area but will also be generating several jobs for which we will be looking to recruit locally.” Planning permission was granted on the basis that the company would also provide a learning zone for local children to learn more about the wildlife, flora and fauna found on the beach and surrounding area. It will be situated on the second floor. The company said its new restaurant would have stunning views overlooking Par Beach, and would offer “an unrivalled destination dining experience.”
 
Cote targets Glasgow site: The Cote Brasserie chain of French restaurants is seeking permission to open on a site in West Nile Street in Glasgow. The proposal for the restaurant, which would be in premises previously occupied by the retail outlet Long Tall Sally, are expected to be approved by Glasgow City Council. Cote's marketing manager, Genevieve Sparrow, said: “At this stage we don’t have a definite site secured, but it is likely that the restaurant will be in the Buchanan Street, West Nile area.” The outlet is likely to open in the spring or summer of next year. Cote is planning a second Scottish venue at 24 Frederick Street, Edinburgh, in the former Pride of Scotland shop.

Chef opens Greedy Goose on Tanner brothers site in Plymouth: Chef Ben Palmer has opened the Greedy Goose on the site of the former Tanner brothers restaurant in Plymouth in Prysten House. He re-opened the restaurant just five days after acquiring the restaurant from Chris and James Tanner last month. The acquisition of the site, which played host to the Tanner brothers for 15 years, came after a legal process which spanned several months. Palmer previously worked for the Tanner brothers in the Barbican Kitchen as their head chef before moving on to work in the boutique hotel Glazebrook House in South Brent.
 
Startisans pop-up shop offers artisan and food brands at central London venue: Artisan food brands and street food suppliers are being offered the chance to showcase their products at a new Central London concept store, The Grocer has reported. The pop-up shop Startisans, which opened this week in Covent Garden, features food and drink brands from around the world. The store, which is open seven days a week from 8am till 3pm, showcases 15 changing suppliers tat a timer. Traders are charged a fee that is lowered for a trial period for new traders. Co-founders and sisters Alex and Kitty Shepherd, daughters of the founder of the independent food shop Partridges, said Startisans will help new food traders get off the ground while also giving them an opportunity to gain work with established street traders. “Fundamentally, our aim with Startisans is to create an entrepreneurial eco-system where ideas are transformed into a business,” Alex Shepherd told The Grocer. “ It’s about supporting and nurturing start-up businesses while introducing our customers to new ideas and inviting them to be at the forefront of emerging food trends.”
 
Dunkin' Donuts forced to take down illegal adverts: The Dunkin' Donuts store in Cambridge has been forced to remove illegal advertisements plastered on bollards around its premises in Fitzroy Street. Stores need planning consent to display signs in public places, and enforcement officers from Cambridge City Council visited the outlet to demand the adverts be removed. Cambridge Council has also been taking action against flags advertising punts and tours along King’s Parade and Senate House Hill. Carina O’Reilly, the council’s executive councillor for the city centre and public places, said: “Whether it’s King’s Parade, Fitzroy Street or any other street, we will take action to remove ugly, illegal advertising where it blights our special city.” A woman who said she was the store manager told the Cambridge News that she “couldn’t really understand the reason why” the signs had to be taken down. She added that she had complied with the officer’s request at the first time of asking and was due to hold a further meeting with council officers. The store has been advised it would be unlikely to get permission for similar adverts. Last week the council’s planning committee gave the go-ahead to forcibly remove any flag adverts in the city centre, after repeated requests to the advertisers to remove them were ignored.
 
Nottingham Marco Pierre White Steakhouse wins environmental award: The Marco Pierre White Steakhouse Bar and Grill at Alea Nottingham casino has won a Green Apple Environment Award for its commitment to protecting the environment. It was the first UK restaurant to run a "carbon-free Christmas" initiative, planting a tree in a developing country for every customer at a Christmas party last year. Its Food For Thought scheme adds a voluntary 99p surcharge to every restaurant bill. This has resulted in the planting of around 2,000 trees. Mark Hands, venue director at Alea, who went to the Houses of Parliament to collect the award, said: "We're thrilled to receive the Green Apple Award but the greatest achievement is the amount of valuable resources that we have provided to developing countries."

Loungers names date for first new opening of 2015: The Loungers chain of cafe-bars has named 14 January for the opening of the Quinto Lounge in Birmingham Street, Sutton Coldfield, the first of 20 planned launches next year. The chain has two more openings due this year, the Argo Lounge in Bridge Street, Peterborough, opening 17 December, and the Curio Lounge, Kings Street, Stroud, opening 3 December. This week it opened the Bonzo Lounge in Market Walk, Keynsham, named as an oblique reference to a once-famous Keynsham resident, Horace Batchelor, who was mentioned in a song by the anarchic 1960s group the Bonzo Dog Doodah Band.

Leeds shopping centres boost foodservice offers: Trinity Leeds and the White Rose shopping centre, also in Leeds, are both planning to enhance their leisure offer in a bid to attract more customers and prevent them from switching to online shopping. Trinity Leeds’ new openings include the Cabana Brasilian barbecue restaurant, which will be opening its first site outside London, Pintura, a high-end tapas restaurant and bar, and the Indian street food specialist Rola Wala. It will also open a new branch of the Italian coffee bar chain Caffe Nero. In south Leeds the £7m food court refurbishment at White Rose Shopping Centre is complete, and three new restaurants, Prezzo, Handmade Burger and Wok & Go, have come on board. Land Securities’ portfolio director, Gerald Jennings, said: “Our aim at Trinity Leeds and White Rose is to have the right balance between retail and leisure, creating places that offer far more than just shopping and involve experiences, entertainment and the building of great expectations – all of which will bring people back time and time again.”