Greggs getting there with changing ‘greasy bakery’ perceptions but still a ‘long way to go’: Greggs head of category David Ross has said the company is “getting there” with changing customers’ perceptions of the brand but admits there is still a “long way to go”. Ross said the company was continuing to improve its range of healthy options as it tried to move people away from the view it was just a “greasy bakery” or guilty pleasure. The company’s Balanced Choices menu – launched in 2014 with all items having fewer than 400 calories – now features 42 products. The range generated £101m of sales last year – 11% of the company’s total turnover. Speaking at Lunch! at Excel in London, Ross said: “One of the biggest challenges we face is changing perception and we know it is going to take a long time. Our not so regular customers still see us as a greasy bakery or guilty pleasure. The only way to change that perception is to keep communicating.” One of its major campaigns was a 30-day Greggs diet, which was put together with advice from nutritionists and doctors. All four people who took part lost weight. It also took its products to a gourmet food festival under the guise of Gregory & Gregory before revealing to people the healthy food options they were trying – and liking – came from Greggs. Ross said the company’s efforts were paying off. Almost one-third (30%) of people surveyed in 2011 thought Greggs served healthy food, rising to 34% in 2014 when Balanced Choices was launched, and up to 41% last year. Ross said the company, which launched the Balanced Choices menu after finding it was losing its young female customers who were looking for healthy options, continued to invest in the range and promote the healthy offer in its bid to become the “best food-to-go brand”. New yogurt flavours have been introduced along with more freshly prepared salads and its first vegan sandwich. Ross said the company continued to make reductions in salt in its products a “little at a time” because it felt that was the right approach to get customers to buy into the move. The company’s cookie range now has 30% less sugar than last year. Healthy snacks and fresh fruit have also been introduced at the till-point. Ross said Greggs had tried in the past to go down the healthy route but failed because it did not engage with its people and get them to also buy into the initiative. He added: “There is evidence our efforts are working but there is still a long way to go.”

 

New speaker added to Propel Multi-Club event on Thursday 1 November, two free places for operators: A new speaker has been added to the schedule for the Propel Multi-Club conference on Thursday 1 November. Daniel Davies, founder of CPL Training and chairman of the Institute of Licensing, will outline his plans to breathe new life into his local coastal community with his latest venture Rock Point Leisure. Multi-site operators of pubs, restaurants and foodservice outlets can book up to two free places by emailing Anne Steele at anne.steele@propelinfo.com. The other speakers are James Nye, managing director of award-winning, nine-strong Anglian Country Inns; Matt Snell, managing director of 19-strong Gusto; Good Life Eatery founder Yasmine Larizadeh; John Upton, former managing director of Leon, member of the McDonald's UK leadership team and now board member of Motherclucker and Naked Deli; Mark Jones, chief executive of Carluccio's; Joe Grossman, founder of 12-strong Patty & Bun; David Singleton, area vice-president, franchise operations and development EMEA/south Asia, Hard Rock International; Christie & Co managing director of pubs and restaurants Neil Morgan; Zonal marketing director Clive Consterdine; Andrew Ball, of sector accountancy specialist haysmacintyre; and Martin Dinkele, deputy managing director of Morar HPI.

 

Up to a third of TripAdvisor's reviews are fake: Up to a third of reviews on TripAdvisor are fake with hotels and restaurants buying positive reviews, it has been claimed. Analysis of tens of thousands of reviews on the site has shown top-rated bed and breakfasts (B&Bs) have almost twice as many “false” reviews as lower ranked establishments. An investigation has found websites are offering glowing reviews for £38, according to The Times. Others allowed owners to bulk buy reviews for less money, with one offering ten positive reviews for £69. One restaurant owner admitted to the paper he had already posted “a large number of positive reviews” but wanted further help to boost his ranking. He wrote to a website offering fake reviews set up by The Times: “I’m looking to improve my TripAdvisor account, I’m currently 3.5 [out of five] and would like to be 4.5 in the next month, please let me know if you can help.” Saoud Khalifah, Fakespot’s founder, told The Times: “TripAdvisor has a huge set of problems. From our database, the mean of fake reviews is 32.9%. For B&Bs, that rises to 41.9%." A spokesman for TripAdvisor said: “The Times investigation is based on entirely flawed techniques. The methods used by Fakespot are completely unreliable for one simple reason – they have no access to the technical data you would need to determine whether or not a review is fake.”

UKHospitality backs May’s stance on EU workers’ rights: UKHospitality has welcomed prime minister Theresa May’s confirmation of the rights of EU workers in the UK and called on the sector to ensure the message is communicated to staff members to ease concerns. UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls said: “The prime minister has stated in clear, unambiguous terms that in the event of a ‘no deal’ Brexit, EU citizens currently living and working in the UK will retain their current rights. This is a hugely welcome categorical reassurance for hospitality, which employs many EU citizens who apply their talents and services to customers across the UK. The hospitality sector – and UKHospitality itself – will continue to endeavour to attract more British people to the rewarding and exciting careers on offer in hospitality. In the meantime, though, we are pleased the government has committed this assurance that EU workers will be able to remain on current terms. This is a very positive message for the hospitality employers and their team members and we need to communicate this message loud and clear.”

 

BBPA rejects report claiming drinks companies ‘keep consumers in the dark’: The British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) has rejected the claims of a new report by the Alcohol Health Alliance (AHA). The report states multinational alcohol companies are choosing to ignore advice from the chief medical officers to display important health information on their products. However, the BBPA responded by stating UK brewers had a “compliance rate of 86.5% in terms of total alcohol”. BBPA chief executive Brigid Simmonds said: “The report from the AHA wrongly suggests only 47% of labels adhere to the industry’s own best practice. All alcohol categories met the 80% pledge and UK brewers exceeded the target with a compliance rate of 86.5% in terms of total alcohol. For many years, the BBPA and its members have been proactive in providing alcohol and health-related information. Beyond the billion-unit pledge, which saw a billion units of alcohol removed from the market, the sector has also run a successful awareness campaign on units of alcohol. Of course label changes take time and are costly but all our members are working with the Department of Health to remove the out-of-date daily guidance by the end of September 2019. In the future, labels will include ABV, units in bottle or can, a pregnancy warning and a link to Drinkaware. The new weekly guidance is complicated and about much more than just 14 units a week. Drinkaware provides all the details and a link to the guidance itself.”

 

UK hotel market sees revpar grow 4.9% in August: The UK hotel market saw revpar grow 4.9% in August, compared with 5.7% in July and 3.6% in June, according to Morgan Stanley’s latest Global Hotel Revpar Tracker. Year-to-date revpar is now up 2.3%. Occupancy grew 1.8% in August compared with 1.4% in July, while room rates grew 3.0% versus 4.3% in July. In London, revpar grew 8.3% in August compared with 8.5% in July and 1.7% in June, with occupancy growth of 5.7% and room rate growth of 2.5%. Regional revpar grew 2.1% in August versus 2.5% in July and 4.0% in June, with 1.7% room rate growth and occupancy growth of 0.4%. The midscale and economy segment, in which Whitbread’s Premier Inn operates, fell 0.2% in August and rose 1.4% during the March to August period (Whitbread’s 2019 financial year to date). European revpar grew 5.0% in August, compared with 5.1% in July and 6.7% in June. Revpar was driven by room rate growth of 3.1%, compared with 3.9% in July, and occupancy growth of 1.8% versus 1.2% in July). European revpar growth is still balanced between rate and occupancy, suggesting scope for further room rate increases. There was solid revpar growth (3.5%) in the US in August, while revpar in the Asia-Pacific region fell 0.2% in the month.

 

Crowdfunding platform claims it outperforms almost all asset classes: Crowdfunding platform Seedrs has claimed it outperforms “almost all” asset classes – even though its co-founder acknowledges many of the companies seeking to raise cash would ultimately fail. Seedrs has released an analysis of the 577 deals completed since it launched in 2012, which it said would return an average of 12% to investors who backed a portfolio of companies on the site. The analysis, which Seedrs said was verified by accountants from EY, takes into account valuations of companies that have used the platform, as well as those that have been sold – meaning the purported returns are theoretical. “We’ve always been clear this is a high-risk asset class and many businesses will fail,” Seedrs’ co-founder, Jeff Lynn told The Sunday Times. “However, if you’ve built a portfolio across the platform, you would be doing well relative to other asset classes – at least on paper.”

 

Research reveals formula for the perfect pint: The perfect pint has a head of precisely nine millimetres and is served at 5.30pm on a Saturday in a beer garden with the other half for company, according to a study commissioned by Cornwall-based St Austell Brewery to mark Cask Ale Week. The study also found the ideal pint should be accompanied by a packet of crisps and with mobile phones out of sight. The perfect setting is a country pub with a beer garden – and it should take exactly 28 minutes to enjoy, the poll found. The most important factor in the perfect pint is “great taste” (62%), followed by “good price” (48%). The “correct temperature” was important to 44% of respondents, followed by the right company (38%). One-quarter (25%) put the “right time” as most important factor, followed by the “right location” (22%), drinking it in your local and drinking British beer (both 20%) and accompanied by the right food or snacks (17%). Almost one-quarter (23%) of Brits said they hardly ever drank a faultless pint, with almost one-third (32%) claiming the temperature was “always wrong”. More than one-quarter (26%) of Brits complain many pubs and bars offer a poor selection of beer, while 40% bemoan the cost of a pint. Beer writer Roger Protz said: “There are many things to consider when it comes to the essential ingredients of a perfect pint. It’s reassuring to see Brits are more passionate than ever about doing things properly when it comes to enjoying beer.”

 

Pret food director – Veggie Pret taught us to be more innovative with recipes as vegetarian offer had been ‘lazy’: Pret A Manger food and coffee director Clare Clough has said its Veggie Pret concept taught the company to be more innovative with its recipes as its vegetarian offer had been “lazy” until that point. Clough said the biggest trend the company had seen was the rise in plant-based food – but it had been a real challenge to respond to. The company opened its first Veggie Pret in Soho in June 2016 – initially as a pop-up before becoming permanent. Two further stores have opened in London, with its first site outside the capital – and fourth in total – set to launch in Manchester at the start of next month. Speaking at Lunch! at Excel in London, Clough said: “It was a challenge at the time to have a better offer for vegetarians. Up to that point we had been lazy – it was really a choice of cheese or egg. We had to be more innovative with our recipes and that has also led to an improvement in the range of vegetarian products in the main estate.” Clough said the company had seen huge customer engagement around vegan snacks. Pret is adding a dark chocolate and almond butter bite to its menu on Tuesday (25 September), which has had more than 20,000 “likes” on social media ahead of launch. Meanwhile, its dark chocolate and almond butter cookie is its second best-selling cookie. Despite the rise in vegan and vegetarian food, Clough said its best-selling products remain the chicken and bacon baguette, tuna baguette and bananas. She added there had been “little movement” in terms of its best-selling products in the past ten years. She added: “We are trend aware but we don’t just follow trends. If we can’t do it in a Pret way, we won’t do it. If it doesn’t work, we have learnt to walk away quickly.” Pret launches about five new products a year and on average they have a nine-month window of development. Clough said sessions were held in the development kitchen every Thursday to test products, regardless of where they were in terms of development, while there was also a “show and tell” session with chief executive Clive Schlee and other board members before launch. Clough said the biggest opportunity for Pret was becoming a global brand as the company was still very “UK-centric”. She added: “One of our biggest challenges, though, as we expand through partnerships rather than company-owned stores is making sure we maintain consistency. We have to support our partners without being complete control freaks. When we opened in France it was the first new market in 15 years. What we found interesting was people didn’t want a French version of Pret but the Pret they know in London. Our rule of thumb is 80/20 in terms of the ratio of core products to local ones. The US is one of the more challenging areas of the business and we are still building our supplier relationships there. We’ve found the food offer is right but not necessarily the execution and we’re working hard on that.” Clough said she didn’t envisage much changing as a result of Pret’s sale to JAB Holdings for £1.5bn, with the deal being a “continuation of the journey”. However, she added it would present an opportunity to tap into the expertise of the other food companies under JAB Holdings’ ownership and learn from them.

Freshly Chopped opens first university site as part of ten-store expansion including debut in England, 50th venue in total: Irish salad chain Freshly Chopped has opened its first university venue as part of a ten-site expansion that will include its debut store in England. The brand’s latest venue in Northern Ireland has launched at Ulster University’s Belfast campus in partnership with outsourcing company the Mount Charles Group, making it Freshly Chopped’s 50th outlet overall. The brand launched into Northern Ireland in June and now has three service station sites in the province. A total of six Freshly Chopped venues are set to open across Donegal and Northern Ireland, with a branch launching in Donegall Square, Belfast, in mid-October. The ten-store expansion will create 150 jobs with branches also opening in the Republic of Ireland, Cyprus and Manchester, its first in England. All venues are expected to be open by Christmas. The expansion comes on the back of the group’s successful franchise programme and strategic partnerships with BWG, Maxol, the Mount Charles Group, Aramark and Corrib Oil. Freshly Chopped co-founder and managing director Brian Lee said: “We are delighted to be accelerating our growth across four different markets. These ten new stores showcase the success of the growth programme we have used to continue the revolution in healthy fast food. There is a vast demand in the British market for healthy fast food and we have been inundated with requests to open in Britain over the last six years, both from Irish people living abroad and British people who have seen what we have been offering in Ireland.” Lee founded Freshly Chopped with Andy Chen in Dublin in 2012. The company has undergone rapid expansion in the past two years, more than doubling its number of employees and stores across international locations. As well as salads, the brand offers “training” and “build-your-own” menus alongside soup, smoothies, hot drinks and cold-pressed juice.

Whitbread set to open ‘bed bar’, in Bristol: Whitbread is set to open a “bed bar”, in Bristol. The company is planning to launch the concept in King Street in a building adjoining the Premier Inn and next to two pubs – The Llandoger Trow and The Old Duke. It has applied to the city council to vary the premises licence, including a change to the internal layout and an area relating to the provision of door staff, reports the Bristol Post. Bed bars have been opened in numerous countries and cities across the world, including Amsterdam and the US. The concept combines beds in a nightclub environment and is described as a “giant slumber party”. 

 

KFC has become ‘bolder and more disruptive’ in its message about being a responsible brand: KFC UK innovation director Jack Hinchcliffe has said the company has become “bolder and more disruptive” in its message to consumers that it is being a responsible brand. Speaking at Lunch! at Excel in London, Hinchcliffe said the method was getting more people talking about KFC. He said the company had been “more Jason Donovan than Kylie Minogue” in recent years. He said: “When Kylie and Jason left Neighbours they were both successful. However, while Jason is touring the universities and playing the same old songs, Kylie has continued to reinvent herself and evolve and as a result remained popular. I’d say we have been more Jason than Kylie in the past few years. We are now trying to communicate in a bolder and more disruptive way that starts people talking. We put out a new advert last year about chickens that attracted plenty of complaints but at the same time it got people talking about us. We know it’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea.” Hinchcliffe said the change of tactic was helping get the message across to consumers that its chicken came in fresh daily from British farms. In turn, it had built relationships with organisations such as Compassion In World Farming over its welfare policy. He added: “There has been a huge shift at what it means to be a responsible brand. It used to be enough to be tasty, convenient and relatively inexpensive but that’s not the same any more.” As part of its push to become more healthy, KFC has committed to reducing the number of calories in an average serving by 20% by 2020. Hinchcliffe said: “We are still in the trenches trying to figure it all out but we are encouraged by what we have done so far.”

 

Antic to launch Arkstar in arch near Arsenal on Thursday: Antic, the Downing-backed London pub operator led by Antony Thomas, is to open its latest pub on Thursday (27 September). Arkstar will launch in Holloway Road close to Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium. The pub will be housed in a railway arch, with a restaurant to follow in an adjacent arch in early 2019. Arkstar will take inspiration from the early years of the London Underground, with design features merging Victorian practicality (glass tiles) with sixties geometric prints and textures (wallpaper and seating). The pub will offer four real ales including Antic’s own Volden alongside a strong selection of keg products with local brewers taking prime position. Hammertown Brewery, Red Church and Moncada have been confirmed already, the company said. Arkstar takes its name from a combination of the words “arch” and Telstar – the hit sixties song written by record producer Joe Meek at a site across Holloway Road. Antic operates almost 50 pubs in London and its surrounds.

 

Koya to open third London site, in new Victoria food hall: Tokyo-style noodle cafe Koya is to open its third site, in Try Market Halls’ latest food hall, which will launch in Victoria in November. Koya closed its Soho restaurant in May 2015, leaving only the adjacent Koya Bar open. The brand launched Koya In The City at Bloomberg’s new headquarters in late 2017. Koya Victoria will be a smaller version of its City of London site but offering the brand’s usual mix of seasonal and rotating dishes such as sardine tempura; breaded, aged pork loin with cabbage and fruit miso sauce; and crispy fried prawn heads. A new concept, The Marksman, will also open at Victoria Market Halls, Harden’s reports. The restaurants are the first two brands to be announced from a total of 11 that will open at the food hall. Try Market Halls was launched by former property investor Andy Lewis-Pratt and Simon Anderson, the restaurateur behind London’s Pitt Cue Co. Victoria Market Halls will open in Victoria Street Arcade in front of the station. The derelict building is being restored with the resulting space divided over three floors with seating for 400 people. There will also be three bars and a coffee shop, while a roof terrace will open next year. Market Hall Fulham opened in May featuring nine operators, a bar and a 180-capacity communal dining space. Try Market Halls is looking to open a further London site, in Oxford Street, while eyeing possible venues in Liverpool, Glasgow, Edinburgh and York.

 

Leon introduces ‘life-changing’ super bonus scheme for general managers: Natural fast food brand Leon has introduced a “super bonus” scheme for its general managers. Operations director Shereen Ritchie said as a result 20% of its general managers were set to receive a “life-changing” amount of money in 2018. Ritchie did not reveal any further details about the scheme but speaking at Lunch! at Excel in London, she said: “If we reward our staff and believe in them, the company will also be winners in the long run.” Ritchie said Leon would always challenge itself to be better for the guest and for that reason could never be a “ten out of ten”. She added: “It is about getting the basics right and leading by example. We are focusing to make sure we are the best. We are also trying to be a more sustainable business and we are prepared to take a cost hit in order to do that.” Ritchie also said the company remained in double-digit like-for-like growth following “not the best year” in 2017.

 

Sethi family to launch Iranian concept Berenjak in Soho next month: Karam, Jyo and Sunaina Sethi, the family behind JKS Restaurants and London venues such as Bubbledogs, Gymkhana and Brigadiers, are to launch Iranian concept Berenjak in Soho next month. The venture will open in Romilly Street on Tuesday, 23 October reinterpreting the hole-in-the-wall kebab houses that line the streets of Tehran. Berenjak, which takes its name from brightly coloured, toasted rice eaten at funfairs, is the brainchild of chef Kian Samyani, who has worked at Gymkhana and Brigadiers. Samyani will draw on his heritage to create signature dishes using seasonal British produce, while interiors will feature stained-glass windows, Persian carpets and reclaimed marble tables. The menu will include small plates, traditional kebabs, freshly baked bread and khoresht, a Persian-style stew. The bar will offer Persian drink sharbat, with a living wall allowing drinkers to choose fresh herbs to pair with their drink, while sparkling, yogurt-based drinks, popular in Iran, can also have alcohol added. Samyani said: “It wouldn’t be an Iranian dinner without sitting elbow-to-elbow with friends and family, sharing each dish until every scrap has gone. I’m looking forward to recreating that at Berenjak.”

 

Giggling Squid opens restaurants in Kingston and Harpenden to hit 29 sites: Thai restaurant group Giggling Squid, which is backed by the BGF, has opened sites in Kingston-upon-Thames and Harpenden to reach 29 sites. The 120-cover venue in Kingston-upon-Thames has opened in High Street and offers takeaway and delivery options. Although the brand has been growing rapidly, the venue in Zone 6 is only Giggling Squid’s second London site, having opened in Wimbledon last year. The Harpenden restaurant has opened in Amenbury Lane and offers semi-private dining. In July the company opened a restaurant in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, while its website lists a site in Bishop’s Stortford as “coming soon”. The company, which secured a £6.4m investment from the BGF in 2015 to support expansion plans, opened its first site in Brighton in 2009.

 

Rusk & Rusk to launch California-style concept in Glasgow city centre for fourth site: Independent restaurant group Rusk & Rusk is set to launch California-style concept So L.A. in Glasgow city centre later this year. The venue will open in Mitchell Street as the group’s fourth venue in the city offering a restaurant, bar and events space with a nod to the lifestyle and culture of California. Co-owner James Rusk said: “While the Rusk & Rusk restaurant collection already boasts some of Glasgow’s most impeccably designed establishments, each having its own distinctive characteristics and identity, So L.A. is a new concept that pushes the boundaries of our current offering. Our new venue is set to be a one-of-a-kind drinking and dining experience. Being authentic and bringing depth to the dining experience are our core values and these are reflected in everything we do. This is an extremely exciting time for us.” Headquartered in Glasgow, the company’s three restaurants in the city are The Butchershop Bar & Grill, Hutchesons City Grill and The Spanish Butcher.

 

Pomona’s appoints TV presenter Mark Lloyd as executive chef for London debut: Chef and television presenter Mark Lloyd has been appointed executive chef of Pomona’s restaurant and bar in Notting Hill, where he will make his debut in a London kitchen. Lloyd, an experienced forager and wild food expert, became head chef of the first River Cottage Canteen in 2007. He also spent two years in St Mellion International Resort in Cornwall, worked at The Cleave Inn in Devon and was development executive chef for Miele. Lloyd has designed an ethically sourced, all-day modern European menu featuring “rustic yet refined” dishes. Sustainability is a major focus, with plastic packaging, clingfilm and straws banned from the restaurant. Signature dishes on the new evening menu include spiced guinea fowl with smoked aubergine, dates and fregola; and ox cheek, celeriac, smoked apple and truffle with beer sauce. Lloyd said: “I am hugely excited to start this new chapter in my career. Pomona’s is a wonderful neighbourhood restaurant with an incredibly loyal following. The new menu takes inspiration from some of the best dishes I have encountered on my travels, with exciting combinations and bold flavours.” Pomona’s opened in Hereford Road in December 2016.

 

Ross Shonhan launches flagship Flesh & Buns site, in Fitzrovia: Ross Shonhan, founder of Japanese ramen bar concept Bone Daddies, has opened a second site for his bao bun concept Flesh & Buns – in Berners Street, Fitzrovia. The 170-cover restaurant is divided into three sections, while there is an open kitchen with counter dining for 22 customers and a semi-private dining room seating 18. The venue differs from the debut Flesh & Buns in Covent Garden by exploring Nikkei Peruvian cuisine and drinks inspired by Shonhan and his team’s research trips to Peru. The venue features a wood-smoker for smoked meat dishes, while Shonhan has sourced fish that are normally shipped to other countries instead of being consumed in the UK. Guests can also push a button at their table to summon the Peruvian Pisco Sour trolley. Shonhan said: “We were the first dedicated bao restaurant to open in London. It was met with a mixture of surprise, intrigue and interest and I vowed I would never open another one! Half a decade later, we have a fantastically loyal following and my wounds have healed. We refurbished Flesh & Buns Covent Garden last year to begin to separate the Flesh & Buns brand from the ramen bars. Fitzrovia will be its flagship.” Shonhan also operates six Bone Daddies as well as Asian fusion restaurant Shackfuyu in Soho.

 

Chef who trained under Roux, Blanc and Pierre-White launches comfort food concept in Camberwell: Classically trained chef Phil Cooper, who learned his trade under Michel Roux at the Waterside Inn and has also worked with Raymond Blanc at Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saisons and with Marco Pierre-White as executive chef at the Mirabelle, has launched his debut venture, in Camberwell, south London. Cooper has opened Fat Phil’s in Camberwell Church Street offering simple, well-cooked food that “massages the soul”. That translates as a menu with American influences that includes small plates such as breakfast radishes with whipped cod roe, and steak tartar with Kentucky rye. Fat Phil’s also offers cheeseburgers, fried buttermilk chicken burgers, flat-iron steak, couscous-stuffed aubergine and grilled Bagot goat chop, Hot Dinners reports.

 

Derby Brewing Co invests in equipment: Derby-based brewer and retailer Derby Brewing Co has invested in new equipment to improve the efficiency and output of its brewery. The family-owned company raised more than £640,000 through a crowdfunding campaign in 2017, some of which has been used to purchase the equipment. The new kit includes a glycol cooling system, a large fermentation vessel, and canning and kegging machinery. Head brewer Andy Marshall said: "This new equipment will enable us to keep up with demand in terms of volume and packaging. The new fermentation vessel is capable of producing 15-barrel brews." Director Paul Harris added: "The crowdfunding campaign has enabled us to invest in this fantastic new equipment, which will be a big boost to our beer production." Harris said the company was also looking at taking on new sites in the "next few months". The company currently operates The Tap beer and spirit house in Derby, The Queen's Head gastro-pub in Little Eaton, smoked food and craft house concept The Greyhound in Derby, and The Kedleston Country House – a bar, restaurant, boutique hotel and wedding venue in Quarndon.

Bury-based retro games cafe submits plans to turn Leeds pub into second site: Retro games cafe Arcade Club has submitted plans to start expansion by launching a second site, in Leeds. The company wants to turn former pub the Star & Garter in Bridge Road, Kirkstall, into a cafe offering games such as Pacman and Super Mario. The debut Arcade Club in Haslingden, Bury, offers more than 250 classic arcade and pinball machines set across three floors. The Leeds version would be spread across two floors and employ up to 15 members of staff. The grade II-listed building housing the Star & Garter has operated under many guises in recent decades, including a nightclub, a children's entertainment complex and a cabaret bar, Leeds Live reports.

 

Freemans to launch burger concept at Twickenham: Freemans Event Partners is to launch a burger concept at Twickenham rugby stadium next month. Union15 Bar & Grill will open on Saturday, 6 October in time for the Northampton Saints versus Leicester Tigers match. The venture is the first semi-permanent food outlet within Twickenham Stadium. Options will range from the Korean Kimchi burger (eight ounce, 100% beef burger with Korean-style pickled slaw and Greek-style yogurt) and the Grand Slam Burger (southern-fried chicken with hash browns and barbecue sauce within a sweet-frosted doughnut). The venture will be cashless to cut queues and feature a bank of menu screens and a dedicated seating area. Freemans Event Partners managing director Stephen Freeman said: “We are delighted with the Union15 Bar & Grill and excited to see how customers respond to the menu.” Freemans Event Partners has been operating at events in the UK and Europe for more than 40 years, focusing on grab-and-go food and drink.