Industry bosses blast Scottish government with pubs and bars as well as nightclubs set to be hit by covid passport scheme: UKHospitality has blasted Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon’s definition of a nightclub in her covid update to Scottish parliament, and warned of potentially dire consequences for pubs and bars. Confirming measures that will come into effect from Friday, 1 October, Sturgeon defined nightclubs as venues that are open between midnight and 5am, serve alcohol after midnight, play live or recorded music for dancing and has a designated space for dancing that is in use. All four of these conditions must be met for a venue to require vaccination passports, Sturgeon said. But UKHospitality’s executive director for Scotland, Leon Thompson, said: “The first minister confirmed the definition of a nightclub, devised by Scottish government officials and approved by ministers, will capture swathes of Scotland’s night-time economy. Not sticking to the stated aim of vaccine certification for nightclubs has brought the potential for businesses serving alcohol after midnight within scope. UKHospitality Scotland argued for a narrow definition, similar to that which the Scottish government used when allocating financial support during lockdown. The decision to go broad will impact on even more of our most vulnerable businesses, many only just reopened and struggling with crippling and ever mounting debts. With only days until vaccine passports come into force and no guidance or public information available – nor any assessment on business or equality impacts in place – business confidence has once more been shattered.” Vaccination passports will also apply to live indoor unseated events of more than 500 people, live unseated events outdoors of more than 4,000 people, and any event of more than 10,000 people in Scotland. At smaller events, QR code scans or visual checks of vaccine certificate will take place. Everyone under the age of 18 will be exempt, as are those who took part in vaccine trials, those unable to be vaccinated and those working at the venues. Sturgeon said: “In legal terms, venues will be required to take ‘all reasonable measures’ to implement the scheme – in plain terms, that boils down to using common sense. So, for example, a venue that has a dancefloor operating after midnight – and meets the other criteria outlined – will have to operate the certification scheme. However, they won’t need to check people coming in for a pub lunch 12 hours earlier – that wouldn’t be reasonable – but by the evening, it would be reasonable to check customers as they arrive. That’s what we mean by common sense. A pragmatic approach will be encouraged, so that businesses can make sensible judgements.” 

 

Sponsored message – third edition of Fentimans’ industry-leading market report unveiled: The third edition of Fentimans’ industry-leading market report has unveiled the major industry trends predicted for the hospitality sector in 2022. The report is the third annual review of key trends and developments in the premium soft drinks and mixers market in the UK on-trade. It combines Fentimans’ long experience at the heart of soft drinks and mixers with market-leading research and analysis from the experts at research consultancy CGA. Fentimans Market Report 2022 delivers the latest insights from both consumers and business leaders, presents exclusive data from across the sector and forecasts some of the next macro trends and evolutions in soft drinks and mixers for 2022. To download a free copy of the report, click here. If you have a sponsored story you would like to see featured in this newsletter position, email paul.charity@propelinfo.com

 

71 multi-site companies set to join updated Premium Database of Multi-Site Companies: A total of 71 new multi-site companies, operating 401 sites, have been added to the next edition of the Propel Premium Database of Multi-site Companies, which will be released on Friday, 1 October, at midday. The updated Propel Multi-Site Database, which is produced in association with Virgate, will feature a number of American inspired restaurant concepts including Allan Hyslop, Tom Westman and Charlie Mair’s Meat:stack restaurant, which has a site at Bigg Market, Newcastle. The trio also run Fed’s, a fried chicken concept with a site at Grainger Market with more sites to follow. Also being added is American barbecue concept HotBox, which is opening its second stand-alone site at LabTech’s Hawley Wharf complex in Camden. Premium subscribers will also receive a 7,000 word report on the new additions to the database. The comprehensive database is updated monthly and provides company names, the people in charge, how many sites each firm operates, its trading name and its registered name at Companies House if different. It features more than 2,000 companies. Alongside this, Premium subscribers will also receive the third edition of the New Openings Database, which is produced in association with StarStock, on Wednesday, 6 October, at midday. It focuses on newly announced openings and upcoming launches in the sector and is updated every month. Premium subscribers also receive access to Propel’s library of lockdown videos and Friday Wrap interviews and now also have access to a curated video library of the sector’s finest leaders and entrepreneurs, offering their insights on running outstanding businesses in the sector. Premium subscribers also receive their morning newsletter 11 hours early, at 7pm the evening before our 6am send-out plus regular video content and regular exclusive columns from Propel insights editor Mark Wingett. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Propel Premium for a year for £895 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or a supplier. The regular single subscription rate of £395 plus VAT for operators and £495 plus VAT for suppliers remains the same. To subscribe, email jo.charity@propelinfo.com

 

Restaurant Marketer & Innovator Awards open for entries: The Restaurant Marketer & Innovator (RMI) Awards are open for entries. The awards, in their fourth year, recognise outstanding marketing and innovation in the sector. Finalists will be invited to an awards ceremony at Pergola on the Wharf in London on Wednesday, 19 January, which will be the grand finale of the Restaurant Marketer & Innovator European Summit, which takes place over three days. Awards are open to any eating or drinking-out brand or outlet in Europe. There are 13 categories – Best Communications; Best New Product Development; Best New Website; Best New/Improved Visual Identity; Best Use of Research, Insight or Data; Best Digital Engagement; Best Use of Technology; Best Community or Charitable Initiative; Innovation of the Year; Campaign of the Year; Marketer of the Year; Innovator of the Year; and Future Leader of the Year. Awards co-founder James Hacon said: “The RMI awards are back for their fourth year. Having had a year gap with the pandemic, we’re encouraging people to enter initiatives from the past two years. This is an opportunity to get recognised for fantastic lockdown communication, relaunch campaigns, at-home product development, in addition to brilliant strategies, campaigns and creative.” The closing date for entries is 11.59pm on Friday, 22 October. For entry information and criteria, click here.

 

Business minister promises government will not ignore hospitality sector: Business minister Paul Scully has pledged the government will continue to listen to and engage with the hospitality sector. Scully, speaking at UKHospitality’s annual conference, acknowledged hospitality’s recovery as being critical to the UK’s wider economic upturn. He was among a line-up of keynote speakers at the conference discussing the opportunities and challenges that lay ahead following the impact of the pandemic. UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls opened proceedings by calling for additional government support for the sector’s recovery in the form of a permanently lower VAT for hospitality and tourism. She added: “The pandemic has had a devastating impact on our sector. The last 18 months have seen hospitality lose more than two thirds of its normal revenue, 10% of its businesses and headcount fall by almost 30%. But it is also true the situation could have been so much worse, and the team at UKHospitality has worked tirelessly to secure the support the sector needed from government. We know it has not been enough to offset the losses, but it has undoubtedly saved jobs and livelihoods. Crucially, that support and engagement is continuing beyond reopening and into recovery. We will aim to consolidate the profile the crisis has given the sector as a critical part of the UK economy, and the perception of the role we can play as a vital partner with government to deliver on the broader agenda needed to help the UK recover, build back better and stronger.” Further insights from research consultancy CGA and data analysts STR highlighted the trend towards working from home offered up new opportunities for bars and restaurants in suburban locations.

 

Restaurants and pubs optimistic about the future but call for more government action: Optimism over future trading has improved significantly among restaurant, pub and bar leaders, according to the third-quarter Business Confidence Survey from CGA and Fourth. Of the 200 business leaders surveyed, 69% said they are now trading at profit, with almost 40% trading ahead of expectations. Their confidence level has dropped by 13% from the research consultancy’s second-quarter survey – when the reopening of hospitality venues for the first time in 2021 inflated optimism – but is the second-highest figure since the May 2018 edition of the poll. However, many of those polled called for further government help – including an extension on VAT reduction (84%), reform of business rates (81%) and business rates relief for 2022-23 (81%) – and more than two thirds (71%) support measures to address labour shortages in hospitality and the supply chain. CGA director Karl Chessell said: “It’s encouraging to see such strong levels of confidence in hospitality leadership, especially given the turmoil of the last 18 months. Many operators enter the autumn on the back of strong August sales, and momentum is building in consumer confidence and spending. But the damage covid-19 has wreaked on the sector will be felt for years to come, and with debt repayments and tax rises ahead, profits are going to be needed for months to come if businesses’ finances are to be secured. Firms remain in need of support, but with the right backing, hospitality is well placed to power the UK’s economy as it builds back from the pandemic.” The survey also highlights the integral role of technology in hospitality’s restart, with 47% improving their view of it and 65% believing new digital solutions are here to stay.

 

Tim Martin attacks government again for its ‘chaotic’ covid response: JD Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin has used the 30th anniversary edition of his Wetherspoon News magazine to take a shot once more at Downing Street. Martin, a long-time critic of the government’s lockdown measures, warned democratic decision-making had been “subverted in the UK” during the pandemic – calling the scientific advice it worked with “flawed” and “faulty”. He said: “Many decisions affecting personal freedoms, health, the economy and other matters have been taken, using emergency powers, by a handful of government ministers, based on flawed advice from SAGE, which has not been properly scrutinised by parliament... or anyone else. The result has been chaotic, with the UK lurching from ‘eat out to help out’ to curfews, circuit breakers, tiers and lockdowns – often based on faulty scientific advice. My personal instinct is this government thinks it can make better decisions by bypassing parliament and ruling by decree – perhaps a legacy of the last fraught parliament, many of whose members were duly issued with a P45 by the public in a general election. It should be admitted that running the country in a pandemic is an incredibly tough job. In my opinion, however, the government, by failing to engage properly with parliament, people and alternative views, has made far more mistakes than are excusable.” In the magazine, Martin also reiterated his company’s Walmart-inspired decision-making philosophy, with front line pub staff and customers playing a dominant role in the process. He looked back fondly too at Wetherspoons’ historical campaigns to ban smoking in pubs, and to oppose the introduction of the euro currency in the UK.

Just Eat teams up with Gregg Wallace to push healthier eating options, promises further sustainable changes: MasterChef judge Gregg Wallace has linked up with Just Eat to support the delivery service’s restaurant partners in offering healthier dishes. Along with nutritionist Charlotte Radcliffe, Wallace visited ten Birmingham restaurants taking part in a three-month pilot project. They will be trialling tailored changes to their menus, including adding healthier items and more effectively marketing the healthiest dishes to customers. The restaurants will also receive a free trial of Nutritics, a new tool used to calculate the nutritional value of menu items, for the trial period. At the end of the project, Just Eat will analyse restaurant and customer feedback and develop a broader support programme for its entire 58,000-strong UK restaurant partner base. Just Eat UK managing director Andrew Kenny said: “Consumers are increasingly looking to enjoy takeaways as part of a healthy balanced diet, but research shows fewer than a third think they can do so currently. We are using our reach to help our restaurant partners tap into and further drive this demand, and this programme is just the first step for us as we look to create sustainable change across the industry.” Wallace added: “As someone who has recently transformed my own diet, I know takeaways can be enjoyed as part of a healthy lifestyle, but it’s not always easy to find those options. Customers need to be able to find a healthy option every time they order in, and most restaurants we visited were already actively taking steps, but there’s always more that can be done.” The participating restaurants are: Rubery Fish Bar, Food Republic, Caspian Pizza, Sophie’s Pizza and Pasta, Slice of New York, Shazan'z Kebab House, Rumana’s, Big John’s, Mahfil Restaurant and Chop & Wok.

 

UK’s first drive-in dessert restaurant opens in Manchester: Your Girl Can Bake, the first drive-in dessert restaurant in Britain, has opened in Manchester. The new concept was launched by 24-year-old Ikraa Riaz, who learned to bake from a young age and, with her small team, create every dish by hand. These include waffles and cookie dough covered in chocolate, big bowls of pick ‘n’ mix, chocolate fondue and chocolate brownies. Guests are handed a serving table through their car window, which sits across both doors for dishes to be placed on. They can book a time to arrive and order up to ten sweet or savoury dishes from the menu. “We are the UK’s first dine in your car dessert shop,” Riaz told the Manchester Evening News. “The response has been absolutely amazing. We have had people driving hundreds of miles from all over the country to come and try our treats. I've always had a dream to have my own cafe, so to make a living doing what I love is a dream come true. We're just a team of three, I started off by myself and then recruited two family members. Sometimes sitting in your car is just much more private and personal because you don't have people around you like you do in the restaurant. I wanted to create a place where you could have that drive-in experience, but for desserts and sweet treats. It took a bit of time to design a table that would fit in any car, but you can have one in the front and one in the back, and they fit at least ten dishes and drinks on each one.”

Brewhouse & Kitchen raises £2.9m to strengthen balance sheet, pipeline of sites in place for further growth: Brewhouse & Kitchen, the 23-strong brewpub group, has raised £2.9m to strengthen its balance sheet and continue with its expansion plans. The company, which has 14 company-owned sites and nine that it operates under a franchise and management agreement with Puma investments, launched a limited rights issue to raise the funds from existing shareholders. The funds have provided additional working capital for the business as well as allowed it to complete the development of its first brewpub with rooms in Worthing, it has plans to develop 24 rooms in Bristol and Bournemouth next year. Brewhouse & Kitchen revealed the details in its accounts for the year ending 26 September 2020, which showed with the assistance of furlough and various government grant the company managed to reduce cash burn to £140,000 per month during the second lockdown. The bank has agreed to extend a term loan due in July 2021 through to March 2022. Furthermore, the loan note facility due to mature in September 2021 has been extended by a year to allow the business an increased recovery period from the pandemic. During the lockdown, the company refurbished many of its sites, including adding outdoor covered spaces at a number of brewpubs. Chief executive Kris Gumbrell told Propel: “When we were allowed to trade, we traded our socks off and we mitigated well to keep our losses down. Our exposure to London is limited and we’ve had several sites, particularly on the south coast, which have had record weeks this year. The company has a strong cash reserve and pipeline of sites in place to pursue further growth in the next quarter. Our experiential business has been particularly strong since reopening, underlying the importance of the premium and experiential preferences of our guests.” The company stated: “Since the September 2020 year end, a further net £1.6m has been successfully raised through a priority allocation issue. The total raised through this issue is net £2.9m. This has protected the business and strengthened the balance sheet while also enabling the company to now complete the development of the site at Worthing. Although the uncertainties surrounding the covid-19 pandemic delayed the expansion of the company, the directors are of the opinion the company will return to profitability within the foreseeable future.” The company’s accounts filed at Companies House showed turnover for Brewhouse & Kitchen’s 14-strong company estate fell 33% to £10.2m for the year ending 26 September 2020, compared with £15.2m the previous year. Pre-tax losses increased to £1.8m, compared with £976,000 the previous year. Last week Brewhouse & Kitchen reported sales were up 16% compared with 2019 for the past eight weeks, with strong performance across the estate despite the challenges of operating in its London sites.

 

Horne – Bath site could potentially be our first franchise outpost: Roland Horne, founder of the Edition Capital-backed coffee concept WatchHouse, has said the group’s upcoming regional debut in Bath, is being looked at as potentially the company’s first franchise outpost. Speaking at Propel’s Multi-Club Conference this month, Horne also said the business, which opened its eighth site earlier this week, in London’s Bishopsgate, was due to double its estate in the next 18 months. He said: “We have eight deals currently in legals, completed or under construction, all of them are 'fully or partly capexed'. In the main we have struck great deals with supportive landlords looking for more aggressive and progressive operators not giving up on the ‘old world’ coming back. At the same time, we have made sure we have significantly invested in our direct to customers offering and subscription business, and we are looking to have that revenue on a parity with pre-covid bricks and mortar revenue by July 2023. We are not a digital business, we are not selling a million pods every five seconds, we are an experience-based business.” The company is set to open in Seven Dials (in the ex-Timberyard site); in Denmark Street in Soho; at the former Caffe Nero in Maiden Lane; in George Street, Marylebone; and in Mayfair. It has also secured the former Radley shop in Bath’s Old Bond Street. On the latter Horne said: “In Bath we have taken a whole building there, 3,000 square foot in the centre of the city. It poses different operational challenges for the business. We are potentially looking at it as our first franchise outpost. We have a partners programme that we developed during lockdown and we are very aware the people who work for us do have entrepreneurial ambitions. We need to foster those desires and partner with them. There is a very good brand in Melbourne, Australia, called Seven Seeds and it has a policy where it will invest and become a minority partner with aspirational and entrepreneurial people who work in coffee and want to go off to start their own gig. So, we are very much taking that mantra and Bath is one site we are potentially looking at doing that in.” Horne previously told Propel the group has ambitions to reach “triple figures” in the UK in terms of sites by “creating genuine, authentic local hubs”, and had a long-term ambition to launch in the US. 

 

City Pub Group secures Bury St Edmunds site: The City Pub Group, the Clive Watson-led, owner and operator of premium pubs across southern England and Wales, is to open its first site in Bury St Edmunds. The 48-strong business has secured the former Café Rouge site in the town’s Abbeygate Street. According to Fleurets, which marketed the site, the property received multiple bids from both local and national operators. City Pub Group plans on fully refurbishing the property and opening soon. The business already operates sites in Cambridge and Norwich as well as the Hoste Arms, on the north Norfolk coast. Simon Jackaman, of Fleurets, who handled the letting on behalf of the landlord, said: “This is one of the most exciting lettings to be concluded this year. The new tenant is a fantastic operator and this opening will be very special for Bury St Edmunds adding to the existing mix of pubs, bars and restaurants this wonderful town has to offer”. In June, City Pub Group, which has a further four development sites, reported trading since the reopening of pubs on 12 April had been encouraging at 90% of 2019 levels for the 42 pubs it had reopened to date. Earlier this summer, it purchased the freehold of the Roundhouse in Wandsworth Common, where it only had four years left on the lease, for a total consideration of £1.1m. 

 

Two Magpies appoints Carl Stock as managing director, opens biggest site to date: Suffolk-based Two Magpies has appointed Carl Stock, formerly of PizzaExpress and Greene King, as its new managing director, Propel has learned. Stock previously spent more than seven years at PizzaExpress as a regional director and prior to that he was an area manager at brewer and retailer Greene King. He joins the business as it recently launched its sixth site, and biggest to date, in the north Norfolk town of Holt. Two Magpies has opened a new 2,600 square foot bakery, cafe and restaurant in the former Bakers & Larners department store building in the town’s high street. Earlier this summer Two Magpies opened a site in the Norfolk village of Blakeney. Rebecca Bishop launched the company eight years ago and now runs the bakeries with husband Steve Magnall, the former chief executive of St Peter’s Brewery. Two Magpies also operates bakeries in Aldeburgh, Darsham, Norwich and Southwold.

 

Big Easy to open at Westfield Stratford, eyes Bluewater launch: Big Easy, the London-based barbecue concept, is to open a fourth site at the end of this month, in Westfield Stratford. The group, which was founded by Paul Corrett, has taken the former Jamie’s Italian site at the scheme. The new site will comprise 250 covers across two floors. Opening on Wednesday, 29 September, the site will also feature a 150-cover alfresco terrace, with a nine-metre bar serving up more than 500 different bourbons, tequilas and whiskeys, a rum bar on the first floor and a huge theatre kitchen. It will also have live music every night. Meanwhile, Propel understands Big Easy, which also operates sites in Canary Wharf, Covent Garden and Chelsea, is also looking at opening a site at the Bluewater shopping centre in Kent, which would mark its debut outside London. It is thought the company is also exploring a possible opening in Cambridge Circus in the capital. The Stratford site’s menu will feature lobster and shrimp rolls, a Nashville hot chicken sandwich and plenty of 'low and slow' smoked meat. The site will also have daily specials that include a “limitless hog roast/wing fest and limitless barbecue”. Kate Taylor, at Davis Coffer Lyons, acts for Westfield on its food and beverage leasing programme.

 

Balfour Hospitality to open first Cotswolds-based pub: Balfour Hospitality, the parent company of Hush Heath Inns, the managed joint venture between Ei Group and Hush Heath Estate, is to open its first site in the Cotswolds, Propel has learned. The business, which is owned by the Balfour-Lynn family, has taken on the pub and boutique hotel, the Falcon Inn in Painswick. Balfour Hospitality currently operates eight pubs and hotels across central London, East Sussex and Kent. It also owns an award-winning winery in Staplehurst in Kent. 

 

Peach sets 2023 net zero target and increases team discount to 40%: Gastropub operator Peach has set a target of becoming a net zero business by 2023 following a vote among its staff. The company has also introduced a 40% discount for all team members to use on its beer, food and overnight rooms all year round, which comes hot on the heels of Peach being awarded a three-star Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) rating. Peach managing director Hamish Stoddart said: “We surveyed our team to ask when Peach should move to net zero, and although the target they voted for is ambitious – to reach a certified net zero by 2023 – I am all in. Peach intends to do a gastropub race to net zero and is challenging a few other good gastropub teams to share the journey. Anglian Inns, Punch, Greene King Pub Partners and Buzzworks are ready to race – and the starting line will be at the first week of Cop26 (UN Climate Change Conference) in Glasgow this November. The business has also moved to an even more generous 40% discount for all the team – from head chefs, partners and managers to junior sous and kitchen porters – and last week, Peach was awarded a three-star SRA rating, the highest rating.” Earlier this summer, Peach helped launch the Net Zero Pubs and Bars initiative with NetZeroNow, aimed at helping small and medium-sized enterprises reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions as quickly as possible. The 19-strong group, which is looking to open four new sites by January, followed this by introducing a new profit share scheme for its managers.

 

West Midlands-based Comfy Pub Co to launch bar and grill restaurant in Birmingham, aims to take concept nationwide: West Midlands-based Comfy Pub Co is to launch a bar and grill restaurant in Birmingham city centre following a £1m investment – and wants to take the concept nationwide. The company, owned by Donna and Craig Chance, is opening Nude Bar & Grill in Bennetts Hill on Thursday (23 September), creating more than 50 jobs. The venue will be spread over four floors including a bar, restaurant and champagne lounge. The pair have been waiting for almost a decade to bring a new venue to Birmingham, with the name “Nude Bar & Grill” purchased six years ago as they awaited the right opportunity. Donna Chance said: “We’ve really built our business and our reputation up over the past ten years and we’ve been waiting so long to come to Birmingham. We’re a West Midlands based company and own a variety of bars and restaurants across the region – but we really hope Nude Bar & Grill will be the blueprint for us to take this format nationwide.” Comfy Pub Co runs the Trooper in Wall, The Wine House in Lichfield and Hoof Beats Bar & Kitchen in Brownhills.

 

McDonald’s begins phasing out plastic toys in Happy Meals: McDonald’s plans to “drastically” reduce the plastic in its Happy Meal toys worldwide by 2025. The company said it was working with toy companies to develop new ideas, such as three-dimensional cardboard superheroes children can build or board games with plant-based or recycled game pieces. McDonald’s said it was also exploring using recycled plastic toys to make new restaurant trays. McDonald’s sells more than one billion toys each year. The company said the new goal will reduce virgin plastic use by 90% compared with 2018 levels. In the UK and Ireland, McDonald’s restaurants are already only offering soft toys, paper-based toys or books. Burger King removed plastic toys from children’s meals in the UK in 2019.

 

Vegan deli, cafe and Scandinavian inspired store White Pine to double up: London-based independent vegan deli, cafe and Scandinavian inspired store, White Pine, is to double up. The company is opening a site in Earlham Street in Seven Dials after agreeing a deal with landlord Shaftesbury. Spanning just over 1,200 square foot, the new White Pine cafe and deli will offer a vegan menu featuring juice, shakes, coffee and tea, smoothie bowls, rye bread sandwiches and healthy treats, alongside a fully vegan deli offering, natural protein and performance products. The site, which opens later this month, forms part of the concept’s expansion and joins its existing outlet in Fitzrovia, which opened in 2018. White Pine director Sebastian Doehring said: “We are pleased to be opening our second flagship cafe and deli within the heart of Seven Dials among a hub of so many other like-minded independent hospitality operators. Seven Dials has long been a target destination for White Pine, with the destination’s commitment to sustainability aligning well with our own brand ethos.” Julia Wilkinson, restaurant director at Shaftesbury, added: “Independent brands play a strong part in the genetic make-up of our hospitality portfolio, and we are delighted to be welcoming yet another dynamic cafe-retail concept in the form of White Pine to Seven Dials.” Nash Bond, Hanover Green Retail and Cushman & Wakefield represented Shaftesbury. White Pine dealt direct.

 

London-based pub operator’s second venue to open next month: Fledgling pub operator Bright Pete Holdings will open its second site, Carmine, in Streatham’s High Parade on Thursday, 7 October. Founded by friends and business partners Christopher Howe and Jamie Cottam-Allan, Bright Pete’s first venture was to relaunch the Elm Park Tavern in Brixton, via chartered surveyors AG&G, earlier this year. Bright Pete’s second site, named after the Soprano’s mafia boss Carmine Lupertazzi, will be a 100-cover all-day restaurant, bar and workspace open daily. Head chef Ozzy Martin Peer, who also oversees the Elm Park Tavern’s menu, has created a brasserie-style menu that takes inspiration from American all-day brunch restaurants. Howe said: “Much like other parts of south London that have radically changed over the last five or so years, Streatham is part of a tide of gentrification, which love it or hate it, brings about net positives for communities of all kinds through investment and employment opportunities. Thousands of people make their home in Streatham, much as they do in places like Brixton and Peckham, both of which reflect this with incredibly diverse food and beverage offerings. Streatham has been slower on the uptake, until recently boasting only a few public houses and one or two wine bars. However, the recent shifts in demographics and the trend toward shopping online have radically changed the playing field, with many high street stores closing and paving the way for more hospitality offerings.” Howe and Cottam-Allan are also planning to add a wine and bottle shop to their Streatham site in time for Christmas.

 

Jamie Oliver plans four new restaurant openings in India: Jamie Oliver is continuing to expand his international restaurant business in India, with four openings lined up for this year. The Jamie Oliver Restaurant Group and franchise partner Dolomite will launch the four Jamie Oliver's Pizzeria sites in locations including Hyderabad, Chandigarh, and the Viviana Mall in Thane. It will bring the total number of sites trading under Oliver's name in India to 15. Ed Lofus, restaurant group director for the Jamie Oliver Group, said: "Our pizzas and versatile menu offers something for everyone, and we are delighted diners across India have responded so brilliantly. Dolomite is a fantastic partner and India continues to be a key growth market for us, with plans for further openings next year and beyond already well under way.” The first Jamie Oliver's Pizzeria opened in India in 2015 and Dolomite currently operates 11 sites across the country, including two Jamie's Italian restaurants in Delhi and several pizzerias in Delhi and Mumbai. Oliver has continued to grow his international business since the collapse of his UK restaurant arm in 2019. There are now more than 60 international franchise sites under the chef's name trading across six continents. Last week Oliver told the Radio Times he plans to open new restaurants, including a new version of his not-for-profit restaurant concept Fifteen.

 

Former Claridge’s pastry chef’s first solo restaurant to open next month: Kimberley Lin, the former pastry chef at Claridge’s, will launch her first solo restaurant in London’s Covent Garden next month. Lilly’s, named after the 17th century astrologer William Lilly, will open for the first time at 3 Henrietta Street on Friday, 8 October. Lin, who has also worked as executive pastry chef at The Corinthia and development chef for Dominique Ansel, will bring her own take on traditional cakes and pastries to the venue, as well as an all-day menu inspired by her childhood in Vancouver Island, where her family would pick fruits and vegetables throughout the year and make their own bread and butter. Housed within a restored five-floored townhouse overlooking Covent Garden, Lilly’s will have space for up to 50 diners to enjoy alfresco dining on the piazza terrace. Lin said: “I couldn't be more excited to launch Lilly’s, my first solo restaurant. Doing it alongside such inspiring chefs as Mark Greenaway and Luis Pous, as well as the team at 3 Henrietta Street, seems like the perfect fit. I am looking forward to welcoming guests from across London and finally being able to share what we have brought together here.” Lilly’s is not Lin’s first venture in Covent Garden – last year she launched the vegan cookie brand Floozie Cookie, which operated as a three-month pop-up at the London landmark. 

 

Dirty Bones to reopen Soho site next month: US comfort food and cocktails brand Dirty Bones will reopen its restaurant in Soho’s Kingly Court on Monday, 4 October. Propel revealed in February that Dirty Bones would move its site from the top floor in Kingly Court to the ground floor, where it will replace oyster specialist and seafood wholesaler Wright Brothers. Dirty Bones operates across five sites in London and Oxford, and its newly refurbished Kingly Court restaurant will feature a DJ booth, basement bar and both indoor and outdoor seating. Exclusive to the site will be a new dish called the reverse cheeseburger, where customers will be served a hot truffled cheese sauce to pour on to their burger. Dirty Burger co-founder and chief executive Cokey Sulkin said: “We are excited to move our Carnaby Dirty Bones restaurant to this spanking new site. We’ve got a chance here to play around with space, enabling us to push the boundaries of what it means to dine out. We’ll be merging the worlds of food and music and bringing it all together under the banner of proper hospitality and good times. We are looking forward to this next step and what feels like a natural evolution of the brand.” Julia Wilkinson, restaurant director at landlords Shaftesbury, added: “We are delighted to see the continued success of Dirty Bones, and the upsize of its new restaurant on the ground floor of Kingly Court.  Dirty Bones is a much-loved restaurant, and its relaunch in the three-storey alfresco food hub in the heart of Carnaby is the perfect addition to London’s West End.”

 

Ramsay to open Street Burger site in Reading this week: Chef Gordon Ramsay will open a site under his fast-growing Street Burger concept in Reading this week. As previously flagged up by Propel, Ramsay has taken on the former Giraffe site in the city’s The Oracle scheme and will launch the restaurant on Friday (24 September). Ramsay is currently in expansion mode for his restaurant empire despite reporting a £5.1m pandemic loss and has been accelerating the roll-out of his Bread Street Kitchen, Street Pizza and Street Burger concepts. The first Street Burger restaurant opened in December 2020 in the One New Change development in the City of London while sites under the concept have since launched in Woking, Surrey, and in the capital in Charing Cross Road, Covent Garden, Kensington High Street and the O2.