Côte making progress towards long-term goal of ‘being an iconic brand’, 2022 a ‘tough year’: Côte, the French brasserie chain backed by the Partners Group, has said it is making progress towards its long-term goal of “being an iconic brand”. Propel understands 2022 has been a tough year for the business but Partners Group, which acquired Cote out of administration in September 2020 for £55m, remains incredibly supportive. It is thought Cote is still looking for opportunities to grow its 84-strong UK estate. It comes as the business filed its first accounts following the completion of the legacy company administration with turnover of £72.7m reported for the year ending September 2021. Like-for-like turnover was up 7.6% versus 2019 for the period from reopening on 17 May 2021 to September 2021. Adjusted Ebitda stood at £0.3m, reflecting long periods of closure during the year. All go forward leases were successfully secured and transferred into the new vehicle. The administration of the old Côte business has been successfully closed, with all key assets secured. The company has a new executive team in place with ex-Ei Group chief executive Simon Townsend appointed as a non-executive director. An investment programme is underway, including the opening of new in-house butchery and development kitchen, the opening of two new-look restaurants in Solihull and Henley, and commencement of an estate-wide refurbishment programme. The company said brand evolution work is progressing with Gordon Ramsay trained executive chef Steve Allen evolving the menu to “reflect the best of modern France” with further innovations planned over the coming months. Executive chair Jane Holbrook said: “2020-21 was the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Côte, with significant incoming investment from new shareholders. While the macroenvironment has become considerably more challenging in recent months, we have fantastic support from Partners Group and we continue to invest and make progress towards our long-term goal of making Côte an iconic brand.”

Gail’s Bakery to speak at Restaurant Marketer & Innovator European Summit 2023, open for bookings: Brett Parker, property director at Gail’s Bakery, will speak at the Restaurant Marketer & Innovator European Summit 2023. The event is a partnership between Propel and Think Hospitality, aiming to build a community, promote the sharing of ideas, recognise talent and define the future of eating out. Bookings are now open for the two-day conference as the centrepiece of the January event series, taking place on 24 and 25 January at One Moorgate Place in London. Parker will talk about “making our daily bread go further”. More than 50 industry and agency leaders will take to the stage over two days, representing brands including Cornish Bakery, Hawksmoor, Burger King UK, Loungers, The Alchemist, Hall & Woodhouse, BrewDog, East Coast Concepts, Press Up Hospitality Group, Krispy Kreme, Mission Mars, Inception Group, New World Trading Company, MJMK, Caprice Holdings, Hakkasan, KellyDeli, Tattu Restaurants, Red Engine, Vapiano, The Cocktail Club, Hilton, Elior, Flat Earth Pizzas, Lollipop, Lego Restaurants, Chotto Matte, Ping Pong, Nobu, Gusto Italian, Searcy’s and Six by Nico. Day one themes will be consumer and sector trends, start-ups, concepts and creativity and digital evolution, while day two focuses on purpose and responsible business, strategies for growth and communication and culture. Tickets for operators for the two days are £600 plus VAT and £350 plus VAT for one day. Tickets for suppliers are £950 plus VAT for the two days and £525 plus VAT for one day. Tickets can be purchased by contacting Jo Charity at Propel on jo.charity@propelinfo.com.

Number of experiential concepts to feature in next edition of The New Openings Database, 9,000-word report included: A number of experiential concepts will feature in the next edition of The New Openings Database. The database will show the details of 164 newly announced site openings and upcoming launches for Premium subscribers when it is published on Friday (2 December), at midday, including which company has opened a site or its plans to open one in the future. It will have details on what type of site it is and its location, and there will also be a website link to the businesses. The database is published on a monthly basis. The next edition features indoor skydiving experience iFly, led by chief executive Simon Ward, which has sites in Milton Keynes, Basingstoke and Manchester, and also has more than 90 sites worldwide, and is set to make its London debut next month, at The O2. Also added is prison-themed immersive experience Alcotraz, operated by Inventive Productions, which has opened its latest, and biggest site yet, at the Rosewood Building in Hackney Road, east London. Meanwhile, tenpin bowling brand Tenpin, which has opened its 48th, and “most innovative” venue yet, in Walsall, will be featured. In addition Clays, the indoor virtual clay pigeon shooting experience, which was founded by Tom Snellock, will open a second site next month, in London’s Canary Wharf. Premium subscribers will also receive a 9,000-word report on the new additions to the database. Premium subscribers also receive access to three other databases: the Propel Multi-Site Database, produced in association with Virgate; the Propel Turnover & Profits Blue Book, produced in association with Mapal Group; and the UK Food and Beverage Franchisor Database. Premium subscribers are also to be given exclusive access to the recording and slides from this month's Propel Multi-Club Conference. The videos will be sent on Wednesday (30 November), at 9am. 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 single subscription rate is £445 plus VAT for operators and £545 plus VAT for suppliers. Email jo.charity@propelinfo.com to upgrade your subscription. Subscribers also receive access to Propel’s library of 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; regular video content and regular exclusive columns from Propel group editor Mark Wingett.

Building back in 2023 – Wagamama's Thomas Heier: In a new series of videos in partnership with Fourth, leading industry provider of inventory and workforce management solutions, Propel group editor Mark Wingett talks with leading sector operators about how they see the next 12 months playing out, the challenges they will face and the trends that will shape the market. In the first video, he talks to Thomas Heier, chief executive of Wagamama, about how the sector leading brand will continue to innovate its offer, people culture and work on key issues such as sustainability and mental health. The video will be sent today (Monday, 28 November) at 9am.

Treasury blocks pay deal for train staff amid fears of wage-price spiral: The Treasury has been accused of blocking train operators from offering unions a pay rise that would have avoided Christmas strike action, amid growing fears that public sector wages risk spiralling out of control. The government is said to have vetoed proposals for a pay increase of between 8% and 9% over two years, despite indicating earlier Whitehall would support a deal, reports the Telegraph. Rail staff are planning to bring travel to halt with eight days of walkouts in December and January as a result. Sources claimed last weekend, officials from the Department for Transport (DfT) ordered train negotiators to offer pay rises to their counterparts from the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) in order to avoid further strikes. But when representatives from the train operators asked the DfT for approval to put the deal in writing, officials are said to have backtracked. All pay increases must be signed off by the government, which has been responsible for train operators’ finances since the covid crisis. Following the collapse of talks, the RMT announced the biggest single wave of industrial action of its campaign to date. Its 40,000 members that work at train operators and Network Rail will walk out on 13, 14, 16 and 17 December, and 3, 4, 6 and 7 January. On Friday (25 November), hospitality bosses wrote to RMT secretary-general Mick Lynch to urge for a resolution to the train strikes “devastating” the sector.

US franchise coffee concept aiming to open first UK site next year, sees 20-40 openings here as entry into Europe: US franchise coffee concept Raining Berries is aiming to open its first UK site next year, and sees 20-40 openings here over the next two to three years as its entry into Europe. The company was founded in 2018 by former UK-based currency trader Bimal Bhojani, whose family background had been in the tea, coffee and sugar industry in east Africa. Having moved to the US in 2007 to build private schools, Bhojani was looking for a new project and returned to his family’s roots at the suggestion of his daughter, opening his first Raining Berries site in January 2020. “My daughter said you’re in coffee shops all day long, why not get back into that industry and create your own brand?” Bhojani told Propel. “They all have fancy machines but so few of them make a real cup of coffee, so we said we need to do it the correct way. We also wanted to add another dimension, a meeting place where you can work without people listening to your conversations, so we’ve created high-end conference rooms with monitors and hand-crafted walnut tables, so the experience is just like being in a corporate boardroom.” Other points of difference include a healthy menu featuring smoothies, fruit bowls, and snacks like avocado toast, none of which require a commercial kitchen. With 20 US sites either open, under construction or signed for pending a location, Bhojani is now eyeing similar numbers in the UK, and is planning a first site here “within 12-15 months”. He said: “Our first store did $350,000-$400,000 in the first year of operating under covid conditions. In the second year, it was $500,000-$600,000, and in the third year, the store is projected to hit £1m in revenue, which is huge, as we’re still what I’d call a virgin brand. Once we get 20 open, I think we’ll get to 40 pretty quickly. It’s grown a lot quicker than I anticipated, and I think if we can get into the UK market, we’ll take Europe by storm. I’m not looking to open hundreds and hundreds of stores, but if we can get 20-40 sold in groups of five within two to three years, with eight to ten franchisees, the rest will be organic growth and give us the exposure for mainland Europe, which I anticipate happening fairly quickly. We’re looking at high-end towns with a good demographic of a younger population rather than major cities at first.”

Cosmo launches smaller-scale restaurant concept: Buffet brand Cosmo has opened the first site of its new smaller-scale restaurant concept, Little Cosmo. It has launched in the former Lau’s 202 Buffet House at 92-98 Newgate Street in Newcastle, with covers for 160 people. “We’re delighted to announce the successful launch of our very first ‘Little Cosmo’ in Newcastle,” the company posted on LinkedIn. “This slightly smaller sister venue boasts 160 seats and more than 100 dishes from around the world. Welcome to the family, Little Cosmo.” Suzanne Wink, head of operations at Cosmo, added: “Newcastle is a vibrant and welcoming city filled with culture, and we’re excited to wow customers with Cosmo’s stunning five-star surroundings and set prices. After three successful launches this year alone, we believe our success is due to constant efforts in fostering a culture of innovation through cuisine and design – it really is pure food theatre.” The circa 20-strong brand also recently opened in Liverpool and secured a site for an opening in Preston’s Animate leisure complex.

Rekom UK exploring former department store opportunities: Rekom UK, the Peter Marks-led nightclub operator, has said it is currently exploring opportunities in former department stores as it looks to grow its concepts in clusters. Rekom operates 50 of its circa 200-site global portfolio over here, recently bringing its Heidi’s Bier Bar and Proud Mary concepts from the continent into the UK. “We’re predominantly nightclubs, but we’re now moving more into high street bars, where the growth potential is huge,” Kevin Norman, who joined the group as head of acquisitions in May, told this month’s Propel Multi-Club Conference. “We certainly feel there’s a space in the market for Heidi’s and Proud Mary, which are trading phenomenally well in Denmark and Finland, those are the two main focuses for us going forwards. We will look at opportunities for nightclubs without a doubt – more and more nightclubs are closing, but therein lies an opportunity for us. The big focus for us is plugging into main cities and building clusters. We’ve got multiple brands, and where we’ve got these brands in city centres, we would then look to build clusters of our other brands surrounding those. There is already big opportunity with the demise of big retail, and we’re looking to really carve up those spaces as there aren’t the retailers to go back into, for instance, 100,000 square feet in Nottingham. They’ll be looking to split that up, and leisure is one of the things they will look to. We’re certainly looking at department store opportunities, landlords are unsure what to do with them. There’s a definite breakdown opportunity, but it’s not as simple as just putting up some partition walls. We’re in conversation with quite a few at the moment, but they’re long burners as you need to go in for change of use and planning, and as we know, certain city councils don’t really like the late licences.” Norman admits he has to “be on the ball” as the ever-growing competitive socialising market will be after the same type of unit size. “We probably have a bit of a head-start in terms of the operational side of it and approaching existing use operators, so that’s where a lot of our focus is,” he added. “Ultimately, I think it’s a good thing we have buoyant businesses in our sector as we’re going to benefit one another and bring more footfall into that location. Experiential concepts are great – I don’t know what the longevity of them will be, and there will be a sell by date – and therein lies opportunity if those venues do become available.”

Jamie Oliver opens first UK location outside London for pasta delivery concept: Chef Jamie Oliver has chosen Bristol for his first UK location outside of London for his new pasta delivery concept. Brace & Browns in Whiteladies Road, Redland, has become the Bristol base for Oliver’s new Pasta Dreams concept, which launched last month in partnership with restaurant delivery company Taster. The new delivery-only business offers an Italian-inspired menu via click-and-collect and delivery apps, with seven signature pasta dishes alongside an assortment of salads, starters and desserts. “Launching Pasta Dreams with Taster has been amazing, and I’m so pleased to be bringing our delicious menu to beautiful Bristol,” Oliver told Bristol Live. “This menu features some of my favourite pasta dishes and we’ll be bringing even more to the menu soon.” Anton Soulier, chief executive and founder of Taster, added: “Through Pasta Dreams, we want to redefine how people view and experience food designed for delivery. We’re excited Bristol is our first location outside of London for Pasta Dreams and we’re looking forward to bringing the concept to more cities very soon.” Pasta Dreams initially launched at pop-up locations in Soho and Paris last month, with Brace & Browns becoming its first franchise partner, and the concept will continue to expand into more franchise locations across the UK. Dave Brown, owner of Brace & Browns, said: “Jamie is one of the world's best-known chefs, so when we heard about Pasta Dreams it was a no-brainer for us. Since we started working with Taster earlier this year to prepare a couple of its other brands, we’ve been really impressed by how it operates and the support we’ve received.” 

Domino’s reports sales ‘going through the roof’ amid World Cup fever: Domino’s Pizza interim chief executive Elias Diaz Sese has said sales are “going through the roof” with the World Cup underway. Diaz said bosses at the company have been preparing “the entire year” for the tournament. Diaz, who took over as interim chief executive at company only last month, is hoping demand through the tournament will break records. Anticipating the surge in demand, Domino's has hired an additional 10,000 staff in the last two months. It took the number of employees across Domino's 1,188 restaurants to 35,000. “We knew it was going to be big, but it has definitely been much better than expected,” Diaz told the Mail on Sunday after poring over the “incredible” demand the company enjoyed on last week's match days. During Friday’s (25 November) England game against the United States, Domino's had its best day this year – with 21 orders processed every second and 147,877 pizzas cooked. Diaz said Tuesday’s (29 November) match between England and Wales, where it has 62 stores, will be another lucrative event. But while Domino's enjoys its busiest weeks of the year through the World Cup and into the Christmas period, there are fears of a slowdown in the new year. Diaz, with 25 years in the food and restaurant industry, said the bleak outlook for businesses and consumers is “obviously a real concern”. But he insists Domino's value credentials would help it to defy an economic slump. “We understand the cost-of-living crisis,” he said. He wants to be “conscious and empathetic” to hard-up families who have limits on their spending power. He added, while the business has faced an “intense” year of rising costs, its long-term relationships with suppliers have helped offset the squeeze and limit price increases. Diaz took up the top job on an interim basis when former boss Dominic Paul announced he was leaving to run Premier Inn owner Whitbread.

RedCat receives new funding from biggest shareholder: RedCat Pub Company, the investment vehicle headed by Rooney Anand, has received new funding from its biggest shareholder. Oaktree Capital has in recent weeks committed millions of pounds to RedCat, which trades from circa 120 venues. An industry source told Sky News that Oaktree had invested the additional capital following discussions between RedCat and its bank lenders. The precise sum was unclear, although a person close to RedCat denied it was £20m. Oaktree committed a £200m war chest to the pubs start-up early last year when Anand, the former boss of brewer and retailer Greene King, established the new venture. A company insider said it had “grown strongly since inception” and now had an enterprise value – comprising its equity and debt – of about £250m. RedCat has a target of being valued at as much as £500m on an enterprise value basis in the near term. A RedCat spokesperson declined to comment.

 

Barkby Group adds Gloucestershire site to pub estate: Premium gastropub operator Barkby Group has acquired the leasehold of the Eliot Arms, a 19th century village pub with seven rooms in South Cerney, Gloucestershire. The company said the Eliot Arms has undergone a comprehensive refurbishment and is “now a destination venue in the area, offering exceptional service, food and accommodation”. The pub marks the group's second acquisition this year, joining Barkby's portfolio of pubs in the Cotswolds region, including The Bull Hotel in Fairford and The Harcourt Arms in Stanton Harcourt. Barkby’s pubs portfolio now consists of nine premises with a total of 75 rooms. Charles Dickson, executive chairman of Barkby Group, said: “The Eliot Arms' location in the Gloucestershire countryside is highly complementary to our existing portfolio of premium pubs. The pub will offer a high-class food and beverage and accommodation experience.”

Knoops opens Cambridge site, invests in new tech: Luxury hot chocolate shop Knoops has opened its eighth store, in Cambridge, and invested in some new technology. Propel revealed in May that an opening in the city, along with Bath and St Albans, was in the company’s immediate pipeline as it laid out plans to expand to 100 UK restaurants over the next five years. It has now opened at 28 Green Street, between Trinity College and Sidney Sussex College. Chief executive Tori Nunn said: “We’ve tried some new things with this launch and build – custom made steam wands, an improved retail area and visual display screens – all adding to our offer and testing and learning with new technology as we grow. It’s topped off a very busy few months at Knoops, with the start of hot chocolate season, our first foray into pumpkin spice, our successful pop-up at Selfridges and our excellent festive gift range. All credit to our fabulous team and Knoops family, which makes this a fantastic place to work and are supporting the growth of this incredible brand.”

 

Just Eat to reorganise customer service operations: Just Eat Takeaway is to reorganise its customer service operations, which could lead to 180 job losses globally. The Times reported Just Eat said it would close a customer service centre in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, and staff would be offered a chance to work in Sunderland – 260 miles away. “We are grateful to all our staff in Borehamwood ... and we are committed to fully supporting all affected staff,” Just Eat said. The news was first reported by Het Financieele Dagblad, the Dutch newspaper. The reorganisation was essential and would help the company “on the way to profitability”, Just Eat said in a memo to employees. Jitse Groen, the group’s chief executive, founded Takeaway in 2000. The group in its present form was created two years ago via a merger with the London-listed Just Eat. The company is in the process of selling Just Eat’s 33% stake in iFood, a Brazilian business, to Prosus, a technology investor, for up to €1.8bn in a move that will bolster its balance sheet.

Former JD Wetherspoon pub in Birmingham set to be converted to digital food hall: A former JD Wetherspoon pub in Birmingham is set to be converted into a digital food hall. The Pear Tree in Kings Heath High Street will be independently run by District Market Place and house six independent food vendors, a bar, a coffee and bakery kiosk and a fine dining experience. The venue will be managed through a digital platform, allowing diners to use an app to purchase food and drinks, which will be brought directly to their table. It will also feature co-working and office spaces as part of an overall “District Works” scheme. In planning documents submitted to Birmingham City Council, District Market Place said Sam Morgan and Andrew Sheridan from Craft and 8 had committed to operational oversight of the site, while celebrity chef Aktar Islam had committed to one of the stalls. However, the chefs have since confirmed they are not a part of the plans. Speaking with the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), Islam, who operates Opheem in the city and previously operated Pulperia, said: “I wish them good luck, as it’s good to have more food businesses in the city, but I have no involvement. We have not even been in contact.” Kash Khera, who heads up District Market Place alongside Thomas Bray, has asked Birmingham City Council to remove the documents, which were an earlier version not meant for the public domain. He told the LDRS: “We have spoken to quite a few chefs and had a lot of interest, but this is very early stages.”

 

Bespoke Hotels launches management training programme: Bespoke Hotels, the UK’s largest independent hotel group, has launched a management trainee programme and welcomed its first candidate on the inaugural two-year course. Individually tailored to maximise their development, it will see candidates experience everything from front of house roles through to operational functions. In addition, Bespoke will support candidates to achieve their CTH (IoH) level 4 diploma in advanced hospitality management. Thomas Greenall, chief executive of Bespoke Hotels, said: “Our trainee management programme has been created to inspire future development of our team and is an exciting opportunity for successful trainee managers to take the next step on their career pathway. We take a maximum intake of only five candidates a year, so it really is an exclusive chance for potential leaders of the future to develop and grow while learning on the job.” Founded in 2000 by Haydn Fentum and Robin Sheppard, Bespoke operates more than 90 properties with in excess of 5,000 hotel rooms, 6,000 employees and £525m of assets.

 

Lancashire leisure group turns profit for first time, turnover back to pre-pandemic levels: Lancashire leisure group Casteron Leisure turned a profit for first time in the year ending 24 February 2022, with turnover returning to pre-pandemic levels. The group, which operates three independent food-led hotels under the Wildsmith Hotels brand, made a pre-tax profit of £663,685 (2021: loss of £164,576). Turnover was £3,824,634, compared with £1,581,56 in 2021, and was up on the £3,688,129 reported in the last full year before the pandemic. It received £256,064 in government grants (2021: £792,710) and no dividend was paid. The group said it experienced higher than normal levels of demand in the summer of 2021, and the reduced rates of VAT and business rates relief “contributed to the success of the business” and “had a huge impact on the reduction of costs”. It said: “Cost pressures continue to mount across the board. One of the main areas of focus this year was the control of payroll costs and alignment of staff required to service the needs of the business. This is evident by the decrease in the wages bill for the year – a decrease of 31% when comparing with the year ended February 2019. Ignoring any revenue generated from grants or the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, we have been able to reduce our labour cost as a percentage of turnover down to 45% (2019: 62%), which almost puts us in line for the sector in which we operate. While we are clearly moving in the right direction, there is still much work to be done in order to maintain the current results.” A decision was taken in November 2021 to close The Ryeback, on the outskirts of Bowness, to allow upgrading works to be carried out. Of the other venues, Forest Side, on the outskirts of Grasmere, maintained the Michelin star it has held since 2016, while Hipping Hall, on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales, brought in Peter Howarth as head chef, who has since gained three AA rosettes.

 

Former Nightjar mixologist to lead cocktail offering at new east London rooftop bar: Former Nightjar mixologist Serena Carrino will lead the cocktail offering at a new east London rooftop bar when it launches next month. Carrino will be head mixologist at Florattica, located on Level 11 in Canopy by Hilton London City, at 11-15 Minories, near Aldgate. Carrino’s cocktails, developed with premium spirits and local ingredients, are inspired by the “aromatic world of flowers” and include Alma, a herbal cocktail made with Casamigos Blanco, Hibiscus Amores Espadin, Ancho Reyes, lavender syrup and citrus; and Inca, made from El Gobernador, Maraschino, marigold syrup, lemongrass air and citrus. There will also be non-alcoholic options and seasonal specials, while a range of small plates will also be available, including native oysters with champagne, raspberry and white balsamic vinaigrette; salmon tartare with chilli mayonnaise, white sesame and squid ink tuile; and a traditional lobster roll with crème fraîche, lemon oil and chives. The bar itself will offer views stretching from St Pauls to Canary Wharf and the River Thames.

 

Lancashire hotel group turns profit for first time in six years, turnover almost back to pre-pandemic levels: Family-owned Lancashire hotel group Paragon Hotels turned a profit for first time in six years in the year ending 31 March 2022, with turnover almost back to pre-pandemic levels. It made a pre-tax profit of £814,000, compared with a loss of £3,351,000 in 2021, returning to profit for the first time since 2016 (£57,000). Turnover was £13,819,000, an increase of more than £10m on 2021’s figure of £3,002,000. It was almost back to the level of revenue in the last full year before the pandemic, ending 26 March 2020, which was £14,362,000. It received £200,000 in Covid Job Retention Scheme payments (2021: £2,293,000) and £277,000 in local covid support grants (2021: £197,000). No dividends were paid (2021: nil). During the year, in October 2021, the group acquired the Lakeside Hotel in Windermere.

 

200 Degrees opens in Derby: Coffee roaster and retailer 200 Degrees, which is backed by Foresight, has opened a new site in the Derbion shopping centre, Derby, with covers for 60 people. The company’s 18th site and seventh in the East Midlands features a “secret” snug seating area as well as tables, chairs and benches. It follows a busy few weeks for 200 Degrees, which last month celebrated its ten-year anniversary and launched its new recyclable packaging and coffee pods. Rob Darby, chief executive at 200 Degrees, said: “We’ve been wanting to set up shop here for some time, being East Midlands-based, and Derbion is the perfect spot. Looking back at where the 200 Degrees journey started, I feel very proud of what we’ve achieved together and feel grateful for our loyal customers. Each new shop opening feels like such a huge win, and I’m delighted with the team’s efforts and hard work.”

 

Village Hotels launches game-based training programme: Village Hotels has launched open pathway game-based training. The new initiative allows employees to receive cross-department training and develop the skills needed to work within different areas of the business. Delivered through a mobile-first app, the training replicates the internal environment of Village Hotels. This allows users to engage in true to life scenarios that they are likely to encounter in their day-to-day roles, the business said. Lindsay Southward, director of operations and people, said: “We looked at the way we were delivering training at Village and decided we needed to find a way to engage employees in a more intuitive way.” Village Hotels has partnered with gamified simulation company Attensi to launch the training.

 

Belfast steakhouse opens second site, plans chain of restaurants across Ireland: Belfast steakhouse Top Blade has opened a new restaurant, in Portadown. The new 50-seater venue represents an investment of £250,000, creating 25 jobs. It adds to the business’ restaurant in St Anne’s Square inside Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter. Top Blade said its long-term plan involves a chain of restaurants across the island of Ireland. Director Kenny Parker told the Irish News: “Our Belfast restaurant regularly serves up more than 1,000 steaks every week and we’re hopeful Portadown will create the same excitement and buzz and will bring the people of Portadown a new dining experience that will delight all the senses.” Top Blade initially opened in Belfast during 2019, but was acquired in 2021 by Alison and John Crawford. Aaron Taggart, a director in the business, said the new team saw something special in the new 50-seater steakhouse. He added: “We're confident the busy town of Portadown is the perfect spot for our second restaurant and we are looking forward to serving up many tasty steaks to our Portadown customers. I hope this is just the beginning of many Top Blade restaurants across both the north and south of Ireland, in fact we are already on the lookout for our third location, which we intend to open in 2023.”

 

Burger & Sauce gets go-ahead for Wolverhampton site: Burger franchise concept Burger & Sauce has been given the go-ahead to open a site in Wolverhampton. Franchisee Saadiya Nawaz has been granted permission by the city council to convert a vacant unit in Queen Square into a restaurant. A heritage statement by Nawaz submitted alongside the application said the premises was ideally located as it was situated within a mix of retail, commercial and public buildings, reports the Express & Star. Burger & Sauce operates six sites with four more “coming soon”, according to its website. The business is currently offering franchisees exclusive territories within two hours’ drive of Birmingham on a ten-year licence, with multi-site development deals also available. In August, the company said it was targeting a UK estate of 300-plus stores.

 

Mark Greenaway to open two restaurants in Lake District: Scottish chef Mark Greenaway is opening two new restaurants in the heart of the Lake District. He will be launching Mark Greenaway at the Haweswater Hotel and Brasserie 37′ at The Haweswater Hotel in January. Greenaway at the Haweswater Hotel will be a fine dining restaurant offering à la carte menus including some of his signature dishes such as barbecue shiitake mushrooms on toast, 11-hour slow roast pork belly and sticky toffee pudding soufflé. The hotel will also become home to Brasserie 37’, a more informal dining room named after the year the hotel was completed. Greenaway told the Cumbria Crack: “Being part of such a historic building in the inspirational and magnificent Lake District is a chef’s dream. A stunning local larder of world class ingredients, with a sense of potential and a true home from home feel in a picturesque location. Our focus will be on delighting our diners with memories to cherish, a journey with splendid food, drink and hospitality in a friendly and graceful fashion. Being given the opportunity to head up two restaurants within the same building is a great opportunity and offers the guests alternative options for dining within the hotel.” Greenaway also runs two other restaurants – Grazing by Mark Greenaway in Edinburgh and Pivot British Bar & Bistro in London’s Covent Garden.