Trade bodies offer Scottish government workable solution ahead of decisive hospitality debate: Trade bodies in Scotland have written to the first minister and MSPs to propose a workable Strategic Framework ahead of a debate on Tuesday (27 October) that will map out the next six months for the hospitality sector. UKHospitality Scotland, the Scottish Licensed Trade Association, Scottish Beer & Pub Association and Scottish Hospitality Group have united to write the letter. While emphasising that hospitality in Scotland is not to blame for the spread of the virus, the trade bodies demanded clarification on a number of issues and have made proposals to support the sector. Its points included if there are to be higher levels of restrictions then there must be higher levels of support for businesses, and they must fall, at least, in line with those in England; economic support made available in the form of grants will not be sufficient and there must be information how the government intends to use its share of the £700m funding allocated to the devolved governments; urgent confirmation of how the Job Support Scheme will work for Scottish businesses to save up to 70,000 jobs; and that support must be provided for sub-sectors, including music and entertainment venues, nightclubs and conference centres, that are unable to open. It also stated anomalies, regarding the serving of meals in cafes but not pubs or restaurants, or hotels unable to serve alcohol to residents, must be reviewed immediately. The government is also urged to ensure restrictions do not last longer than necessary and it has to publish a road map to show how areas facing tighter restrictions can work towards exiting those restrictions. In a joint statement, the trade bodies said: “The framework, as it was announced last week, will clearly have an enormous impact on the lives of people and businesses. No other sector has been as heavily disrupted as hospitality and the planned framework looks set to provide further restrictions that may destroy businesses and wipe out jobs. The objective for everyone must be to contain the spread of the virus. It must, however, be done in a way that gives the incredibly valuable businesses in our sector the best possible chance of survival and a more equal shouldering of the burden at this time. If we are not careful, businesses will be closed for good and jobs permanently lost. Our sector stands to lose the most if the framework is not absolutely right.”

 

Tim Hortons – we’ve been building pipeline for past two years in preparation for rapid expansion: Tim Hortons UK & Ireland chief commercial officer Kevin Hydes has told Propel the brand has been building its pipeline for two years in preparation of its plans to accelerate expansion. The Canadian quick service restaurant brand has said it wants to open an outlet in “most major cities and towns” by 2022, with plans to create more than 2,000 jobs. Hydes told Propel the business plans to focus its growth on drive-thrus, having seen a major pick-up in sales via the format since the lock-down was imposed in March. The company has seven drive-thrus currently, which are “all profitable”, and will launch its next in Milton Keynes as it moves further south in England. Hydes said its drive-thrus ranged from between 2,200 square foot to 6,000 square foot, which gives the brand flexibility on location. The dine-in restaurants have been able to operate at about two-thirds of capacity despite social distancing measures. He said: “While we have our own challenges, we are in a really strong position and have had positive growth through the year – in the last quarter we have seen a 37% increase in like-for-like sales. We’re not just looking to open sites in the south but the whole of the UK. We’ve been working on our property pipeline for the past two years. We have spent a lot of time making sure we have the best products for our customers. They appear to have missed us during lock-down because we have seen both average spend and frequency of visits increase while we have also picked up new customers. Our job is to make sure they have a fantastic experience and a reason to come back.”

Analysis show sales down 26.2% year-on-year: Analysis from S4labour shows that hospitality sales remained down year-on-year by 26.2% last week, similar to overall figures for all of October. Week-on-week sales were up 1.4% overall and up 5.6% outside London. The weekly figures show signs that there was a stabilisation of consumer confidence. London, however, was down 15.8% compared with the previous week. Early indicative figures continue to show a clear correlation between London moving into tier two and a sales decline. Chief customer officer Richard Hartley said: “Government restrictions continue to hamper the progress the industry is trying to make.”

London nightclub Fabric receives £1.5m grant: Iconic London nightclub Fabric has received £1.5m as part of the latest round of the government’s Culture Recovery Fund. The £1.57bn bailout fund for the arts sector was announced earlier this year, and the latest round of grants has seen £75m given to 35 organisations. Five music venues are included in the new grants. Alongside Fabric, money will go to BH Live in Bournemouth (£2.4m); the North Music Trust, which runs the Sage venue in Gateshead (£1.8m); Performances Birmingham Ltd (£2.5m); and the ACC Liverpool Group (£2.9m). “We’re delighted to announce that we’ve been successful in our application for the Culture Recovery Fund,” Fabric wrote on Twitter. “We would like to express our gratitude to Arts Council England and DCMS (the government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport) for the faith they’ve shown in us.” The news follows criticism from the dance industry after many of its most prominent venues were denied funding in previous rounds of the Culture Recovery Fund, saying nightclubs were left “trying to rebalance the unjust”. While it emerged that 89% of England’s grassroots music venues that applied for a share of the £1.57bn bailout had been successful, Printworks, The Egg, Studio 338, Oval Space and The Pickle Factory were among the most notable venues to be denied financial assistance, and are still yet to receive funding. While certain dance music institutions and organisations were awarded a grant, including Ministry Of Sound, which gained £975,468, and Boiler Room, which was awarded £791,562, others left out in the cold said the application process did not give them a chance to sufficiently express their cultural worth.

Peter Backman – recipes and menus will have to be amended to cope with people with long-lasting covid effects: Sector analyst Peter Backman has argued that recipes and menus will have to be amended to cope with people, who suffer from long-lasting effects of covid-19. Backman said: “Perhaps the last thing operators have on their minds right now is their 2021 menu. But there are still some potential issues that they, and especially their suppliers, can be thinking about this far ahead as they fill up their NPD pipeline. Google Trends showed a huge spike in searches for “loss of taste” and “loss of smell” in March. In some cases, early indicators of a covid infection were loss of taste and smell, which caused people to begin searching for more information on these topics. Roll forward to autumn and we find that, in addition to being an indicator, in many cases loss of these senses also outlasted the infection. There are already many instances of people who, having contracted covid-19, lost their sense of taste totally. Suddenly, that gin and tonic tastes like tap water. Others recovered only a bit of the lost senses, perhaps only 10%, perhaps more. And in other instances, quoted in The Sunday Times, taste and smell had been grotesquely malformed so that for some, chocolate tastes like chicken while the noses of others are constantly filled with the smell of a rubbish bin. These conditions are already known to science and have names, anosmia (the absence of the sense of smell) and parosmia (a distorted perception of smell). But reasons for the link with covid-19 are not yet known with any certainty. And it is certainly not yet known whether sensory changes such as these are permanent. Further, there is no indication yet of how many people will be afflicted. But, if the changes are severe and long lasting, and if large numbers of people are affected, there will be significant implications for the foodservice sector (and the food industry in general). Recipes and menus will have to be amended to cope with people who have little sense of taste or whose noses are constantly filled with woody odours or who can’t tell the difference between a margarita mix and fish. Restaurants might find a fall in their customer numbers as a result of people finding that eating is no longer a pleasant experience. I am not suggesting that changes such as these will definitely feature across the market, nor that they will be severe and affect a significant number of people. But they might. And if they do, they will form an additional platform for change that we can lay at the door of covid.”

Nightclub to fight £10,000 fine in court: Police have fined a nightclub – claiming it tried to pass off a packed marquee rave as an “outdoor” event. The owner is refusing to pay a £10,000 coronavirus fine imposed, telling West Midlands Police: “See you in court.” Police broke up the event, which attracted up to 120 clubbers, as it said the marquee had walls and a roof so was classed as indoors, reports Birmingham Live. Digbeth’s Lab 11 was handed the coronavirus regulation fine after police stormed the event and warned staff “this is not a game anymore – people are dying”. Despite tier two restrictions, revellers from different households were illegally mixing at the same tables and were allowed to move around without wearing masks, the force said. Spokesman William Power branded the fine and issuing of the police body-worn footage an “insult” after the club had “endeavoured to operate at a high standard throughout the past three to four months”. He added: “It is an insult to me, our team, the venue and professional operators within our industry. Clear and purposely considered measures were in place to make every reasonable effort that the venue was as safe and compliant as possible. Beyond this, we can only make every reasonable effort to ask the customer to respect those measures. Opening at this severely reduced level was an attempt to keep people in jobs, support artists, promoters and neighbouring businesses, as well as allowing the people of Midlands who have suffered so much during the past few months to be able to, within the restrictions imposed by government, meet up, socialise and try and connect with each other, in a way that is fundamentally human. Unfortunately, in terms of Lab 11, we can no longer offer that opportunity. We are not paying the fine. See you in court.”

100,000 jobs saved thanks to delivery services in lock-down: About 100,000 jobs were saved during lock-down thanks to delivery services such as Deliveroo, analysis from Capital Economics has discovered. The research also showed delivery services has supported turnover in excess of £1bn for Deliveroo’s restaurant partners during this time with the furlough scheme being used much less than the hospitality sector as a whole – 33% versus 73%. The study entitled The Value of Delivery Services quizzed Deliveroo’s restaurant partners about the period between April and June. The report stated: “Delivery services have helped to keep parts of the hospitality sector operating in a challenging environment and the cost to government would have been even higher without them. They have helped to keep more people at work in the hospitality sector, which has been one of the hardest hit sectors from lock-down restrictions and changes in peoples’ behaviour.” On average, 32% of employees in Deliveroo’s partners said they managed to continue working because of delivery services, while 40% cited the furlough scheme as the difference between the business closing down and continuing working. Business Minister Nadhim Zahawi MP said: “Food delivery services like Deliveroo have provided a vital service for many throughout the pandemic.”

Customers frustrated over downloading too many apps: Despite contactless ordering becoming more prevalent at hospitality venues, customers are frustrated by the growing number of apps they now have to download, according to research by KAM Media and OrderPay. As more than half of survey respondents expressed annoyance at downloading multiple apps that do the same thing, 42% want a app that can work across a number of hospitality chains with 51% being aged under 34. Demand for order ahead and pay-at-table apps is growing as mobile phone ordering has become increasingly important to 41% of customers in the past six months. KAM Media managing director Katy Moses said: “Most customers are open to technology that will help enhance their experience but the key is ensuring it is frictionless and painless for them.” 

Rum is crowned ‘drink of lock-down’: The Wine & Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) has crowned rum the “drink of lock-down”, as their latest figures show that rum enjoyed the biggest growth across all spirits during lock-down. In the three months from April to June 2020, 38% more rum was sold than in the same period in 2019, equating to an extra 1.3 million bottles sold. Total rum sales were worth £119m in the quarter alone. During the past 12 months, rum has enjoyed 8% volume gains and is now worth £430m, placing it behind only whiskies, vodkas and gins in value terms. The biggest growth was found in the flavoured and spiced rum category that, between April and June, grew 53% by volume to make up 3.4 million bottles of the overall category. The popularity of flavoured and spiced rums during lock-down saw the variety outsell white rums over a three-month period for the first time.

Yumpingo and AreTheyHappy team up to help improve the hospitality customer’s journey: Restaurant intelligence platform Yumpingo and customer data analyst AreTheyHappy have joined forces to offer hospitality businesses the chance to make the customer journey as smooth as possible. The collaboration uses a system called TotalView, which allows businesses to track, attribute responsibility, engage and impact guest feedback left across review sites and social media platforms, which gives operators the power to drive loyalty, increase visits and provide accountability for recovering guests who had a negative experience. In combination with Yumpingo’s existing suite of guest experience management solutions, Yumpingo’s TotalView – powered by AreTheyHappy – provides operators with a view of what their guests think, feel and say across every aspect of their experience, everywhere. TotalView is already helping leading operators across the industry, including Rosa’s Thai, Leon and The New World Trading Company (NWTC) manage guest experiences in-store, off-premises and online, in one place. AreTheyHappy chief executive Hannah Albarece said: “We will be delivering exclusive new features for growth-focused hospitality brands. With the powerful combination of one-minute dish-level surveys, social media and review management, and efficient team collaboration, restaurant brands will have a unique 360-degree overview of customer sentiment and internal operations. We give them the tools to deliver great customer experiences, online and offline.” NWTC strategic planning manager Jon Townsend said: “We’re continually seeking ways to evolve and streamline the way we operate in order to improve our guest experience. This partnership gives us greater dexterity to manage, track and influence the end-to-end experience of our guests”. Yumpingo chief executive Gary Goodman added: “This new integration gives businesses the power to seamlessly track, manage and influence all of these touchpoints.” 

Sector spent £900m on PPE: Pubs, bars and restaurants spent £900m on personal protective equipment (PPE), such as screens, masks and hand sanitiser to make their venues safe for reopening, according to industry estimates. British Beer & Pub Association chief executive Emma McClarkin said: “Ninety per cent of pubs are currently unable to make any profit. More will need to be done to support Britain’s brewers and those in the pub supply chain that currently do not benefit from grants.” UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls added: “The Government’s restrictions make it impossible for most venues to operate profitably and are having a devastating impact.”

Meatless patties can be called burgers, EU rules: Meat-free and plant-based products can still be labelled “sausages” or “burgers”, the European Parliament has ruled. So-called veggie burgers, soy steaks and vegan sausages can continue to besold as such in restaurants and shops across the European Union, despite lobbying from farmers. Europe’s largest farmers’ association, Copa-Cogeca, had supported a ban, arguing that labelling vegetarian substitutes with designations that brought meat to mind was misleading for consumers. But a group of 13 organisations – including Greenpeace and WWF – urged the politicians to reject the proposed amendments, arguing that a ban would have not only exposed the EU “to ridicule”, but also damaged its environmental credibility. They said promoting a shift towards a more plant-based diet is in line with the EU Commission’s ambition to tackle global warming.

 

Job of the day: COREcruitment is currently working with boutique coffee and retail business looking at national and international expansion. To support this small business through considerable growth, it is looking to appoint a passionate non-executive director. This job will require two to three days’ work per month and would suite an individual who has overseen major growth of a small business at founder/chief executive level. Ideally, the business wants an individual with experience in premium small group restaurants or cafe/coffee concepts. Anyone interested can send their CV to Hollie@corecruitment.com

Edin Basic to launch new pizza concept, Pizza Madre: Edin Basic, founder of Firezza, the gourmet pizza delivery company that was acquired by PizzaExpress, is launching a new pizza “al metro” concept called Pizza Madre. The new concept is to be launched at The Red Lion in Ealing, which has been home to the Santa Maria pizza offering for the past two years. Basic told Propel: “This is just one of many sites we are going to open. We will donate £1 from each of our three best-selling pizzas to support local struggling musicians during the covid-19 restrictions. We have many friends in the music industry and most are struggling at the moment. The Pizza Madre name means mother’s pizza and is chosen having in mind what we stand for: community, support, sharing our metre-long pizzas with the family and friends, care and love. In British pub context, we felt this is what people want – we rarely have individual people coming to eat alone. However, if they do we will do individual pizzas. I have put all 25 years of my experience of creating Neapolitan pizza concepts here in UK and abroad (Pizza Mano in Norway) into this concept, pulling my best suppliers and the best possible produce and people together in order to create the best pizza in London – and then, hopefully, the wider UK.” Basic is still a partner in Hackney pizza bar concept A Slice Of Blue. Pizza Madre is opening on Thursday (29 October). 

 

Franco Manca to replace Le Pain Quotidien near Borough Market: Franco Manca, the Fulham Shore-owned brand, is to add to its London estate with an opening near Borough Market, Propel has learned. The David Page-chaired brand has secured the former Le Pain Quotidien site in Blows Yard, in Winchester Walk. The company, which operates circa 50 sites under the Franco Manca brand, will start on-site this week with an opening planned before the end of next month. Earlier this month, Fulham Shore said its sales were up 7% to £68.6m before the full impact of the coronavirus as it revealed its results for the year to March 2020. It opened seven Franco Manca pizzerias and two Real Greek restaurants during the period, and currently has 68 of its 70 restaurants open. Page said: “The tribulations of distressed UK businesses and their landlords has resulted in the group being offered more new sites than we can possibly view. These are ex-retail shops, ex-ground floor offices, ex-chain restaurants, plus new-build sites that were some years in the planning, but now have no tenants. We feel the longer we wait for even the best of these sites, the lower the rents we can achieve. We believe this situation may last at least five years.”

 

Coca-Cola takes over Briggo robotic coffee kiosks, rebrands machines as Costa Coffee: Coca-Cola is thought to have acquired Texas-based coffee automation company Briggo and rebranded its machines with its subsidiary company label Costa Coffee. Briggo’s automated coffee vending machines that operate mainly in the Austin area of the US state under the name of Coffee Haus have been rebranded as Costa Coffee BaristaBot. Briggo had raised $19m for its new wave of automated kiosks and was aiming to combine robotics with a higher-end consumable product, according to The Spoon. Briggo was also known for being a business that sourced and roasted its own beans. Having tied up a deal with SSP America last year, Briggo announced – before covid-19 struck – it was set to unveil new kiosks in 25 airports during this year and 2021, to join its two at Austin-Bergstrom Airport and one at San Francisco International Airport. Coca-Cola acquired Costa Coffee from Whitbread in 2019.

McDonald’s pledges funding for one million free meals for children: McDonald’s is offering funding to provide one million free meals for UK families during the half-term break. The restaurant chain has signed a deal with food charity FareShare to help those “in greatest need” and to help the campaign started by Manchester United football star Marcus Rashford, who has been passionate about ending child food poverty in the UK. McDonald’s UK & Ireland chief executive Paul Pomroy said: “We are committed to supporting and serving the communities in which we operate. When we temporarily closed our restaurants in March, our people, franchisees and suppliers rallied to provide surplus food and support to food banks and charities. We were pleased we were able to donate surplus food through FareShare and other organisations earlier this year. I am pleased to support the distribution of one million meals to the families most in need this autumn.” The government voted down a motion to offer free meals during school holidays this week although low-income families can gain access to free meals for their schoolchildren during term time. 

Asda opens first sit-in Greggs cafe: Asda has officially opened its first sit-in Greggs cafe, at its new £21m store in the East Midlands. The cafe will offer vegan sausage rolls and other Greggs foods such as breakfast rolls, sandwiches and wraps, pasta salads, sweet treats, cold drinks and Fairtrade coffee. Greggs will also trial shop-in-shops in five Asda stores in Boldon, Corby, Huyton, Eastlands and Wigan. Asda already works with McDonald’s, Sushi Daily, YO! Sushi (Panku and Kulaba Kitchen) and Just Eat in a number of stores across the UK. “We’re delighted to officially open our Worksop superstore and to have been selected to launch a number of ‘firsts’ for Asda including a brilliant range of food for now options,” Asda Worksop store manager Craig Loveday said.

 

Bloomsbury Leisure builds Tap pipeline: Bloomsbury Leisure, the pub, bar and leisure venue operator led by Jonathan Dalton, is planning to open a further four sites under its Tap concept over the next 12 months. Propel understands the company has two new Tap sites lined up for London, and one each for Manchester and Birmingham. The first scheduled to open will be the Hackney Tap, which is set to open next month in Mare Street and include a gyoza kitchen. The group plans to make its debut in Birmingham, with the opening of a Tap site early next year. The new site, which is thought will replace Pint Shop in Bennetts Hill, will feature 27 taps and a gyoza kitchen. The company plans to open a second Tap site in Manchester next summer, in the city’s Victoria area, after the Railway Heritage Trust awarded the company a £46,000 grant towards restoring a disused space by Soldiers’ Gate. It already operates the Piccadilly Tap in Manchester. Finally, the group plans to open a tap on Eastcheap, in the City, next summer. Bloomsbury Leisure currently operates four sites under its Tap concept, including sites in Farringdon, Euston and Waterloo, has applied to open a bar and gyoza dumpling bar at 41 Farringdon Street. It also plans to open an indoor cricket-based competitive socialising venture called Batting Stars at the 100 Bishopsgate development.

 

Diageo buys gin and vodka producer Chase Distillery: Diageo has agreed a deal to buy Chase Distillery – which makes seven gins, four vodkas and an elderflower liqueur – for an undisclosed sum. Among the Herefordshire-based company’s well-known brands are Chase GB Gin and Chase Original Potato Vodka. Diageo Great Britain managing director Dayalan Nayager said: “We are thrilled to be bringing such a quintessentially British portfolio of high-quality, crafted brands into our family. We are excited about the growth opportunity within the premium-plus segment and are very much looking forward to working with the Chase team to build on the portfolio’s considerable potential.” Chase Distillery founder and chairman William Chase added: “It’s inspiring to have Diageo invest in Chase Distillery’s future. They believe in the potential of our field-to-bottle spirits and will build on our mission to develop our sustainable distillery in Herefordshire.” The acquisition is expected to close in early 2021 subject to regulatory checks.

The Burger Shop Co to double up: The Burger Shop Co, the West Sussex-based concept, is to open its second site, after securing a unit in Horsham. The company, which was founded in 2015 by father and son, Ian and Oliver Fricker, is understood to have lined up a site in the town’s Piries Place scheme. The Burger Shop Co launched its first site in Arundel in November 2016. The concept specialises in burgers, craft beers and cocktails.

 

Ex-Goodlife Projects director launches virtual restaurant group: Jonny Boud, co-founder of what was Goodlife Projects, the brand, marketing and consultancy business which helped launch Rum Kitchen, Passo, Foley’s and Island Poké, has launched a new virtual restaurant group called Kitchen Ventures. The new venture is on a “mission to make fresh, delicious, chef-cooked food accessible to every neighbourhood via our network of cloud kitchens”. Virtual brands the business is currently working on and with are thought to include farm-to-bowls salads concept – Local Greens; Giz ’n’ Green, the pizza collaboration between chef Gizzi Erskine and rapper Professor Green; and chicken concept, Farmbird. The latter is currently available on Deliveroo. Goodlife Projects went into liquidation last year.

 

Henry Harris steps down as chef-director of Harcourt Inns: Henry Harris has announced he has stepped down as chef-director of London-based pub group Harcourt Inns. Harris partnered with Harcourt Inns, which is backed by investment firm Ducalian Capital, in 2017, to oversee the relaunch of The Truscott Arms in Maida Vale. He then went on to oversee the food offer across the company’s other subsequent openings The Three Cranes in the City of London; the Coach & Horses in Clerkenwell; and The Crown in Chiswick. Harcourt Inns currently operates six pubs in total, with its most recent site, The KPH in Notting Hill, opening last year. Harris said: “This week, I stepped away from the London pubs that I have been running as chef-director for the past three years and I no longer have any involvement in them. I am very proud of what we have achieved. A truly great team that has cooked and served great food and poured good drinks and I know will continue to do so. I am working on a new project that I hope to be able to announce before too long.”

 

Arome, backed by Ellen Chew, takes first bricks and mortar site: Longmartin Properties, a joint venture between Shaftesbury and the Mercers’ Company, has announced artisan bakery, Arome, has selected The Yards, Covent Garden, for its first permanent bricks and mortar site following its successful pop-up in Soho earlier this year. Created by patissier Alix Andre and backed by restaurauteur Ellen Chew’s ‘Chew on This’ group, Arome has signed for a 2,000 square foot store at 9 Mercer street and will bring its traditional French baking techniques to Covent Garden in November. Ellen Chew, co-founder of Arome, added: “This latest deal marks a huge milestone for Arome. Following our pop-up store in Soho, we have put a lot of consideration into finding the perfect location for our first ever bricks and mortar bakery. Being based in central London, The Yards Covent Garden is such a desirable area of the West End for foodies. We have tried and tested our brand meticulously and there is no doubt Arome will be a huge hit in Covent Garden.”

 

Iconic Peterborough nightclub calls time: An iconic 1,550-capacity Cambridgeshire venue has announced it is closing its doors. The Solstice, one of Peterborough’s few remaining nightclubs, has announced its closure after 23 years in the business. The venue has been trying to operate the bar side of the business since lock-down was eased. General manager Peter Bell said: “We were running at a reduced capacity but realised that we can put more people outside so we also applied for a planning application to extend the time we can open up outside the back. There was a really good vibe about the building and what we were going to do in the future. Then the 10pm curfew came. It became a real challenge and it decimated one of our nights.”

@pizza raises 150% of target on Crowdcube: @pizza has now raised 150% of its target on crowdfunding website Crowdcube. Founder Rupert Lyle said: “We would like to thank everyone who has invested so far, taking us to 150% of our target with more than £1.2m raised. This investment enables us to seize an opportunity to expand and excel. With investment from more than 1,400 investors, a new high-footfall location under construction, and the UK’s first drive-thru pizza unit on its way, we’re excited about what the future holds. In the coming months, we will increase our footprint and make delicious, hand-crafted pizzas more accessible, offering a five-star dining experience that is ideally suited to the new normal.”