Exclusive – Mr Bao Group looking to expand ‘beyond just Taiwanese restaurants’, planning more standalone concepts and further Master Baos: Frank Yeung, co-founder of Mr Bao Group, has told Propel he is looking to expand “beyond just Taiwanese restaurants” and is planning more standalone concepts alongside further Master Bao sites. Yeung will next week (Friday, 6 September) open his latest venture, cocktail bar Good Measure, located in the former basement storeroom of his Daddy Bao restaurant at 113 Mitcham Road in Tooting, south London. The bar – which will offer 15 covers, Taiwanese bar snacks and cocktails with a Taiwanese twist – will mark the start of a new pivot for the group. “Our team is so strong right now that it feels like the right time to expand our group further and beyond just Taiwanese restaurants,” Yeung told Propel. “Good Measure is the first step on this journey, driven by our bar team at Daddy Bao, who are constantly coming up with amazing new drinks. We’re also in the process of looking at other locations, but nothing that we can confirm just yet! We’re definitely open to launching more Master Bao sites if the right opportunity comes along, but also more standalone concepts driven by our interests, research trips and the way we like to eat out. We have a few concepts in the works, but for now are focused on finding the right sites for them. We’ve just got back from another research trip to Hong Kong, so watch this space!” Of the new bar, which will be open every Friday and Saturday night, Yeung said: “We’ve been thinking about opening a bar for a while – somewhere low key where our customers can enjoy a drink with us. We went on a research trip to Taipei with our team last year and were seriously impressed by the bar scene. We especially liked the bars that were tucked away in unexpected places – not so much speakeasy, but just efficient use of space. We started to think that our storeroom could be utilised in a similar way, with seating in amongst the shelves and ingredients, but still serving amazing drinks in a buzzing atmosphere.” Yeung said trade has been “fairly strong this year”, adding: “We’re not blowing the doors off like 2023, but we’re happy.” Yeung opened the original Mr Bao in Peckham in 2015 with co-founder Abhinav Malde. This was followed by Daddy Bao in Tooting in 2018, and then Master Bao sites in Westfield White City in 2019, and Westfield Stratford earlier this year.

 

Greene King people and culture director Vickie Elsey to speak at Propel’s Talent & Training Conference, open for bookings with 20% discount on tickets for Premium Club members: Vickie Elsey, people and culture director at Greene King, will be among the speakers at Propel’s Talent & Training Conference. The all-day conference takes place on Tuesday, 1 October at One Moorgate Place in London and is open for bookings. The conference will showcase examples of outstanding people culture among companies within the sector and how the industry is attracting talent. Elsey will talk about how Greene King is championing diversity and inclusion through various training programmes, including reverse mentoring, which flips organisational hierarchy on its head. For the full speaker schedule, click here. Tickets are £345 plus VAT for operators and £395 plus VAT for suppliers. Premium Club members get a 20% discount. Email: kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com to book places.

Premium Club members to receive new searchable and segmented New Openings Database this week: The next Propel New Openings Database will be sent to Premium Club members on Friday, 6 September. The database will show the details of 240 site openings, 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 and Premium Club members will also receive a 11,881-word report on the 268 new additions to the database. The database includes new openings in the casual dining sector such as the all-day, neighbourhood concept, Megan’s; Bill’s, opening two new sites; and award-winning chef Aiden Byrne’s Li-Ly. Premium Club members also receive access to five other databases: the Turnover & Profits Blue Book, the Multi-site Database, the UK Food and Beverage Franchisor Database, the UK Food and Beverage Franchisee Database and the Who’s Who of UK Hospitality. All Premium Clubs members will be offered a 20% discount on tickets to Propel paid-for events including the Talent and Training Conference (1 October), Restaurant Marketer and Innovator (two days in January 2025) and Excellence in Pub Retail (May 2025). Operators that are Premium Club members are also able to send up to four members of staff to each of our four Multi-Club Conferences for free. Premium Club members receive their daily Propel Info newsletter 11 hours earlier than standard subscribers, at 7pm the evening before. They also receive videos of presentations at eight Propel conference events two weeks after they are held. This represents around 100 videos of industry insight over the course of the year. Premium Club members will be sent a dedicated monthly newsletter that will highlight key updates in the sector and direct subscribers to all the vital content their membership offers. Premium Club members also receive exclusive opinion columns every Friday at 5pm, which include the thoughts of Propel group editor Mark Wingett and a host of industry leaders from across the sector. A Premium Club subscription costs an annual sum of £495 plus VAT for operators and £595 plus VAT for suppliers. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Premium Club for a year for £995 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or supplier. Email kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com today to sign up.

Pub bosses warned to expect minimum alcohol pricing: Pub bosses have been warned ministers could bring in minimum alcohol pricing as part of the government’s public health drive, sources have told The Telegraph. Industry insiders said they had been privately told the policy could be on the table if they do not take more action to tackle the harms of alcohol. A government spokesman insisted there were no plans to introduce the measure and said: “We have no plans to introduce minimum unit pricing for alcohol.” It comes after a minister suggested Labour was planning more public health measures on the back of its plans to ban smoking in beer gardens. The Telegraph has been told a senior government figure floated minimum pricing at an industry event held shortly before the election. A source said that the person told one business representative the industry needed to “get its act together” or face the prospect of government intervention. The senior figure in the brewing industry claimed the government figure pointed to action by soft drinks producers, who cut the sugar in their products ahead of the introduction of the sugar tax in 2018. “They said that following suit would be something he would urge,” the source added. Labour figures have previously refused to rule out the possibility of bringing in minimum unit pricing, which is already in force in Scotland and Wales.

Labour – outdoor smoking ban is not an attack on the hospitality industry: The government is “not attacking the hospitality industry” with proposed plans to ban smoking in pub gardens, a cabinet minister has insisted. Lucy Powell told Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips that Labour wants to create a “smoke-free country” and measures to achieve this will be done “in consultation” with businesses that could be affected. The new government had already pledged to resurrect Rishi Sunak’s flagship smoking bill, which intended to ban anyone aged 14 and under from ever buying cigarettes but was shelved before the election. However, prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said he could go further and also ban smoking in outdoor venues to reduce the number of preventable deaths linked to tobacco use. Asked about criticism that this move could “kill business”, Powell said: “We’re certainly not attacking the hospitality industry. We support the hospitality industry. It’s vital to our communities, our high street, our economy. I’m not going to pre-empt what is or isn’t going to be in a future piece of legislation, but what I would say is that any such measures to extend some of these issues around smoking will be done in full consultation with hospitality businesses.” She added there has been “a consensus for a long time now that we want to see a smoke-free country” and the health and economic benefits “would be huge”.

Calls for return of Churchill’s national restaurant service to tackle food inequality: A new report is calling for the return of a “national restaurant service” in some form, as a way to tackle contemporary issues such as health inequality, food insecurity and even climate change in the UK. In 1940s Britain, at a time before fast food and ready meals were staples of the British high street, a popular new restaurant chain was established. It served high-quality meals at reasonable prices, attracted customers from the full spectrum of British society and grew at a rate of ten new sites a week at its most popular. The brains behind the operation were the British government, led by prime minister Winston Churchill. Churchill’s British Restaurants, a chain of government-funded canteens offering nutritious price-capped meals, were intended to counter inflation in food and fuel prices related to the war, as well as boost community spirit. At their peak, there were more British Restaurants across the UK than there are branches of McDonald’s today. The Observer reports that a forthcoming report entitled ‘Public diners: the idea whose time has come’, by food policy NGO Nourish Scotland, marks the beginning of a campaign to introduce restaurants as national infrastructure, a call backed by politicians and experts. A public diner, according to the report, is a state-subsidised eatery serving quality and ethically produced food at affordable prices. Crucially, says Nourish Scotland, they are neither charity nor a treat, but everyday eating places for entire communities to access. Abigail McCall, project officer at Nourish Scotland, told the newspaper: “Poor diets have overtaken smoking as the leading cause of preventable ill health for some time now. We need the government to make a bold intervention in our food environment and invest in delivering what the market doesn’t – healthy, climate-friendly food in a convenient way and at an affordable price. The creation of public infrastructure is a big undertaking, but we have done it before. We created public railways, parks and libraries. It can be done, and it’s easy to see how the diners would pay off, given the impact our food has on our health, our environment and our communities.”

Pret facing protest after ‘caving in to pressure to boycott Israel’: Campaigners who accuse Pret a Manger of caving in to pressure to boycott Israel were set to protest at one of the sandwich chain’s central London branches on Sunday (1 September). The Telegraph reports that the organisers, anti-discrimination group Stop The Hate UK, accuses Pret of scrapping plans to open branches in Israel after pressure from pro-Palestinian activists to ditch its investments there. The firm has denied caving in to anti-Israel pressure, claiming travel restrictions in the region have made it difficult to continue with the launch of the planned outlets. Stop The Hate UK says its protest is aimed at the “discriminatory tactics of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement”. It claims the decision by Pret to abandon its expansion into Israel is a surrender to the demands of a movement that perpetuates “divisiveness and hatred”. Earlier this summer, Pret announced it was abandoning plans to open 40 shops in Israel as part of an agreement with Fox Group, an Israeli retail group, and Yarzin Sella Group, a food service business. It said ongoing travel restrictions meant its teams were unable to conduct the checks and training needed to set up Pret in a new market, and that under the terms of Pret’s travel insurance, any colleagues travelling to Israel would not be insured.

Be Inclusive Hospitality launches its fifth Elevate Mentorship Scheme: Be Inclusive Hospitality (BIH), the sector social enterprise founded in 2020 by former Corbin & King head of procurement Lorraine Copes, has launched its fifth Elevate Mentorship Scheme. Designed for restaurant founders from Black, Asian and other ethnic minority backgrounds to help unlock access to hospitality expertise, the programme is being sponsored by restaurant tech business, OpenTable. The six-month mentorship runs from January to June 2025 and will see participants matched with industry leaders who will share their knowledge, feedback and advice. BIH’s Inside Hospitality Report 2023 revealed that 77% and 65% of Black and Asian respondents find mentorship to be the most helpful form of support for career progression. “To date, the Elevate Mentorship Scheme has supported more than 100 mentees, with over 600 hours of mentorship, leading to in excess of 70% of mentees achieving their career and business aspirations during or soon after the scheme ends,” Copes said. “I’m delighted to partner with OpenTable on supporting restaurant founders to step-change their business performance and shine a light on the UK's diverse dining scene.” This year’s mentors include Laure Bornet, OpenTable’s vice president of international growth. Applications close on the 30 September.

Job of the Day: COREcruitment has an excellent opportunity for a chef director/culinary director in London. The hiring client is looking to pay up to £155,000, with an additional 30% bonus and travel. A COREcruitment spokesperson said: “This is a standout company to work for in the UK, as leading operators in high-volume experience venues with massive growth potential in the food offering. We are working together to source an excellent and proven chef director to lead the next phase of the expansion and tighten the existing offering in all areas within food and back of house. This will require a top candidate with proven experience and expertise in improving food offerings in a premium high-volume group or multi outlet hotel. Someone with a deep knowledge of the industry and can hit the ground running to focus on elevating menus and rigorous back of house standards.” For more information and to apply, please contact Olly Hornby-Smith at olly@corecruitment.com.

SSP launches latest restaurant concept: SSP, the operator of food and beverage outlets in travel locations worldwide, has launched its latest restaurant concept. It has opened the first Hithes – a “hybrid of city pub dining and a modern brasserie” – in the departure lounge of London City airport. The concept takes its name from an old English word for a small port or harbour on a river and draws inspiration from the former ports along the River Thames. It offers dishes inspired by London’s food scene, including a Brick Lane chicken thali and a Soho salad alongside wines, beers, soft drinks and cocktails such as the London Mule. The menu has been designed to include low carbon footprint dishes, created in partnership with SSP’s food sustainability science partner, Klimato. “Hithes is an exciting new concept for us, developed to fuse old and new London at this rapidly expanding airport,” said Cathy Granby, business development director for SSP UK & Ireland. “We know how important it is for customers to be able to sit down and enjoy a meal before a flight without compromising on quality or speed of service. Hithes does just this, with a bespoke menu and full bar, all available through order at the table, where they can relax or work over lunch before boarding.” Hithes is part of a seven-year contract extension SSP secured at London City airport last year and is SSP’s fourth outlet there – joining Juniper & Co Bar & Brasserie and two Soul & Grains.

Red Engine co-founder expects overall revenues of £125m in 2024: Steve Moore, co-founder of Red Engine, the team behind Flight Club and Electric Shuffle, said he expects overall revenues for the company of £125m in the year to December 2024. Flight Club’s sales reached £68.6m in the year to 31 December 2023, producing an operating profit of £5.1m. At Electric Shuffle, the figures were, respectively, £10.7m and £850,000. Red Engine employs 130 people and has 29 venues worldwide. Its backers include Manjit Dale, the founder of private equity firm TDR Capital; Alex Chesterman, who started the online car retailer Cazoo; and PR guru Matthew Freud. Moore retains a 5% stake. Moore told The Sunday Times that he expects overall revenues of £125m in the year to December 2024, including sales at its US and Australian franchises. It is now using a £60m bank facility to fuel further expansion across Europe and has just opened a 10,000 square-foot flagship outlet in New York. In recent years, Red Engine has faced competition from other “competitive socialising” options, as well as prolonged closures during the pandemic and a cost-of-living crisis. Despite these hurdles, Flight Club has continued to grow — something that Moore puts down to a consumer desire to “go to something really good once a week”. He said: “Occasional spend means quality. A lot of the mid-market has been really knocked out, but if you’re good, you’re doing well.” He added: “This isn’t about selling in ten years or stopping at 50 venues. Our vision is about spreading ridiculous joy. I’ll be doing this on my deathbed, unless I get kicked out!” A new report produced by Propel on the fast-growing experiential leisure sector was launched on 1 August. The report profiles the current shape of the experiential leisure market – including brands, estate size, trading type and geographical location and future trends. It provides a detailed list of UK experiential leisure companies including key staff and Companies House information. The report includes more than 180 companies, 3,500 sites and a 35,000-word report. The report is available for £595 plus VAT although Premium Club members can receive the report for £395 plus VAT. The report will be made available for free to existing Premium members on Tuesday, 10 September at 9am. Email: kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com today to order a copy.

M&S cafes to serve up more takeaway food to attract younger consumers: Marks & Spencer (M&S) is seeking to win lunchtime customers from Pret A Manger with more grab-and-go food and drink options in its cafes. The Telegraph reports that the retailer is trialling a revamp of its in-store cafes in an effort to tempt younger customers – having traditionally attracted elderly shoppers who tend to sit down for tea and cake. As part of the trial, M&S is switching up food options in its cafes so everything can be picked up and eaten on the go. The current trial is taking place in a small number of stores, with the vast majority still retaining its old menus, which feature meals such as chicken tikka masala and fish and chips. It is also starting to train kitchen staff to speed up food preparation and improve technology to make it quicker for customers to place orders. M&S said there had been a “really encouraging” performance from the new cafes, which opened a few weeks ago in Dundee and Leicester. It is part of a drive to win customers from coffee chains such as Pret, as M&S said it wanted to “build on our position as one of the top high-street cafes”. M&S, which opened its first cafe in its Leeds store in 1935, is now the largest retail cafe chain in the UK, running more than 300 sites.

Bill’s appoints Savills to advise on UK expansion plans: Bill’s, the Richard Caring-backed group, has appointed Savills to advise on its UK expansion plans. Propel revealed exclusively last month that Bill’s is to return to the expansion trail with a new iteration of its restaurant format, following the trial of two new cafe bar concepts earlier this year in Newbury and St Albans. The circa 45-strong company will open up two new sites before Christmas, in Milton Keynes and Street in Somerset. It is also in the process of securing a pipeline of properties for 2025 and beyond and is now working with Savills on its growth plans. Tom James, managing director at Bill’s Restaurants, said: “We have identified several key locations across the UK where we believe Bill’s would be a great fit. We are excited to be working with Savills to realise our ambitions to bring the well-loved and colourful Bill’s experience to more guests in 2025 and beyond.” George Collison, associate director in restaurants and leisure Team at Savills, added: “We are delighted to see Bill’s continue its impressive growth trajectory across the UK. The new café/bar format demonstrates the business’s understanding of the need to evolve with consumer preferences. The expansion not only reflects on the strength of Bill’s as an operator and brand but is also an encouraging sign in terms of the UK eating-out market. We look forward to supporting Bill’s in continuing their success into 2025 and beyond, and we are eager to hear from property owners with potential opportunities.”

Ennismore – developing hotels in Europe is ‘more challenging’: Ennismore, the group behind the Hoxton hotel chain, is betting on the Middle East and the Americas for its growth after warning that Europe is becoming “challenging” for hotel development. The company, which is backed by hotel group Accor, operates more than 37,000 hotel rooms in more than 170 hotels around the world and plans to add a further 27,000 in the next few years. It has 17 hotel and restaurant brands including Mondrian. The Middle East, which accounts for 43% of its rooms, will take the lion’s share of this growth — 70% — while room numbers in the Americas, which currently account for less than a fifth of the total, will grow 61%. In Europe, where 13,000 rooms account for about a third of the present total, the number of new rooms will grow by about 35%. “Europe generally is a lot more challenging than perhaps some of the other areas,” Sharan Pasricha, founder and co-chief executive of Ennismore, told the Financial Times. In Europe, Ennismore has “smaller properties” which “sometimes take a bit longer to develop than other regions and other jurisdictions”, Pasricha added.

Travelodge owner has front row seat in Cineworld rent row: The Wall Street owner of hotel chain Travelodge is behind the radical restructuring of Cineworld which risks leaving UK ratepayers millions of pounds out of pocket. Cineworld collapsed into administration last year owing creditors £4bn. The Sunday Times reports that after a failed auction of the UK and Ireland business, a secretive group of so-called vulture funds took it over this year. Their identities have been kept secret, but now it can be revealed that they are led by GoldenTree, the Wall Street owner of Travelodge, which negotiated aggressive cuts in rents to landlords after a bitter row in 2020. GoldenTree has also been in a long-running dispute with the state of Puerto Rico after buying up billions of dollars of sovereign-backed debt. Dubai-based Sirius Capital and Mayfair fund Blantyre Capital can also be disclosed as owning about 12% of the chain. Blantyre declined to comment, while GoldenTree and Sirius did not respond. The names of the hedge funds have been kept secret ever since Cineworld’s lenders seized control of the business through a debt-for-equity swap. Legal filings referred to Cineworld’s UK and Ireland shareholders as “financial institutions and entities managed and/or controlled by various investment funds which were financial creditors”. Cineworld was last week given the green light by a London judge to begin talks over a radical restructuring of the business in which many of its landlords may have to accept steep cuts to rent. Nine of Cineworld’s properties are owned by local councils, which used ratepayer money to invest in them to help boost their finances. They are Barnsley, South Oxfordshire, Monmouthshire, Huntingdonshire, Wakefield, Warrington, Derbyshire, West Suffolk and Hinckley & Bosworth in Leicestershire. Barnsley last week became the first of the councils to break cover over the situation. It built a multiplex for Cineworld at the city’s Glass Works complex in 2022, handing the chain a £2m incentive payment.

Wetherspoon to cut the price of food and drinks in September as part of ‘Tax Equality Day’: JD Wetherspoon is set to cut the prices of all food and drinks this month as part of ‘Tax Equity Day’. Food and drink prices at Wetherspoon pubs across the UK will be cut by 7.5% for one day only this month to “highlight the benefit of a permanent VAT reduction in the hospitality industry”. Wetherspoon’s founder and chairman, Sir Tim Martin, said: “The biggest threat to the hospitality industry is the vast disparity in tax treatment among pubs, restaurants and supermarkets. Supermarkets pay zero VAT in respect of food sales, whereas pubs, bars and restaurants pay 20%. This tax benefit allows supermarkets to subsidise the selling price of beer. Pubs have been under fantastic pressure for decades, because of the tax disadvantages which they have with supermarkets. It doesn’t make sense for the hospitality industry to subsidise supermarkets. A VAT cut to 12.5% is needed to ensure that pubs, bars and restaurants do not continue to close, but instead thrive, invest and create new jobs. We call on the chancellor to create tax equality between the hospitality industry and supermarkets.”

Pepe’s Piri Piri opens 200th site: Flame-grilled piri piri chicken brand Pepe’s Piri Piri, which originally launched in London in 2004, has opened its 200th site, in Edinburgh, Scotland. The business, which is led by Sohaib Masood, chief executive and master franchise partner, opened the milestone site in Gilmerton, a suburb of the Scottish capital. The brand, which also operates sites in Morocco, Pakistan and the UAE, offers a range of grilled food such as wraps, burgers, burritos, quesadillas, wings and platters. Propel understands that the company has another 14 openings already lined up for the next six months, in places including Aldershot, Streatham, York, Leeds and Birmingham. 

Belfast hotel and bar operator secures £4.75m refinancing to support future growth including Amelia Hall development: Belfast hotel and bar operator Ringland Group has secured a £4.75m refinancing to support its future growth, including the development of Amelia Hall in Belfast’s Linen Quarter. Propel reported in June that the group, founded by brothers Peter and Ben Ringland in 2008, plans to transform two ground level units in Howard Street into a restaurant, café, beer hall and cocktail bar. The new venue, for which £1.75m of the cash injection has been ringfenced, is due to open on Saturday, 7 September. The funding Ulster Bank will also support the continued expansion of the group’s nearby The Flint hotel, with a second The Flint hotel planned for the city’s Cathedral Quarter. Richard Lusty, relationship director at corporate banking at Ulster Bank, said: “The opening of The Flint on Howard Street in 2018 was an important moment for Belfast city centre and we’re pleased to see the regeneration of the historic Linen Quarter continuing today. We are pleased to be supporting the Ringland Group to deliver this ambitious project, which is set to become a cornerstone of the high street and positively contribute towards the local tourism and hospitality sector.” Ringland Group also operates The 1852 hotel plus bar restaurants Town Square and Southside Social.

Professionals at Play confirms December launch and venue for new Star Pins concept: Professionals at Play, the operator of Roxy Lanes, Roxy Ball Room and King Pins, has confirmed the first site for its new Star Pins concept will open in December. It will launch in a 32,000 square-foot site at the city’s West Orchards Shopping Centre, offering a variety of family-friendly games including ten-pin bowling, mini golf, darts, shuffleboard, ice-free curling, American pool, shooting pod, ping pong and a huge arcade. There will also be a range of food and drink including a desserts emporium. Star Pins is the sister brand to King Pins, which has two venues in Manchester, with another in the pipeline to launch in Bristol. James Travis, brand Manager at King Pins said, “As the UK City of Culture in 2021, Coventry is rife with creativity and opportunities, so we couldn’t think of a better city to launch our new brand, Star Pins. The venue will mark our first venture in the city and we’re looking forward to welcoming the people of Coventry through our doors and providing them with accessible, premium game experiences, from our gold standard ten-pin bowling to mini golf and ice-free curling.” Last week, Propel revealed that Professionals at Play is considering its funding options and is currently in talks with advisors on a potential investment process next year. The group rebranded from Roxy Leisure at the start of August, at the same time as launching Star Pins.

Midlands smashed burger franchise opens in Leeds: Midlands smashed burger franchise Burger Boi has opened in Leeds for its fifth new location this year and 17th overall. It has opened at 7 Wortley Moor Road, following last month’s launch in Edgbaston, Birmingham. Marketing director Asa Simpson said: “With eight more locations to open in 2024, we are well set to achieve our goal of 25 stores by the end of the year. With eyes already poised for our next goal of 50 stores by the end of 2026. Every new location is a step closer to bringing our mouth-watering burgers to even more fans as we continue on our mission to dominate the QSR landscape across the UK.” Burger Boi, which was founded by Surj Bassi in 2020, is also exploring international expansion, with potential first overseas sites in Canada and Dubai.

North Brewing Co opens ninth site: Leeds brewer and retailer North Brewing Co has opened its ninth North Bar. The new site is located in the heart of Leeds' newest city centre green space – Aire Park in Sheaf Street. The new site features coffee from North Star Coffee Roasters, pastries from Laynes Espresso and natural wines from Wayward Wines. The company’s latest street food brand, Tacos y Màs, will also serve fresh tacos during the week and Mexican breakfast on weekends. Earlier this year, the future of North Brewing Co was secured following a sale of the business out of administration to Steve Holt, founder of fellow Leeds brewer Kirkstall Brewery.

Bear set to open in Wimborne in October: Cafe bar concept Bear has confirmed its eight site – in Wimborne, Dorset – will open in October. Founded by lifelong friends Craig Bunting and Michael Thorley, Bear started life in a shed with a supermarket espresso machine. The business, which is backed by Clark Group, has now grown to operate seven sites across the Midlands and Cheshire, serving speciality coffee, seasonal fresh food and cocktails. In June, it secured the former Dancing Moose site at 71 High Street in Wimborne, as it expands to the south coast for the first time. Following this, the company completed a £650,000 fundraiser on Crowdcube in July, to “open new stores, enhance product offerings and further develop the brand”. Giving an update on the crowdfunding platform, the owners said: “We’re excited to share that we’ve officially started on-site at Wimborne! The build is coming along nicely; if all goes to plan, we’ll open our doors in October. So, pencil in a trip to Dorset from then onwards – we’d love to see you there!”

Cornish Inns opens sixth site: Cornish Inns, owned by Chris and Jason Black, has opened its sixth site – The Loom Room in Wadebridge. It joins the company’s other pubs – the Golden Lion in Port Isaac, the Weavers Inn in Bodmin, the London Inn in Padstow, the Lugger Inn in Polruan and the Pityme Inn in Rock. The Blacks were named British Institute of Inkeeping Licensees of the Year in 2021. “Last weekend we opened our sixth site in Cornwall, something a little different for us but a pipe dream that we are very proud of,” Chris said. “When Jason showed me this dilapidated old bar/store room a few months ago, I struggled to see its potential. But his vision for a speakeasy bar in Wadebridge came to life. We love a challenge, and this certainly was one, but it was all worth it to see the bar full and happy guests, sipping cocktails and craft beers and grazing on small plates. If you are in North Cornwall, please pop in and see us at The Loom Room, Wadebridge.”

Cardiff operator formed by ex-Gordon Ramsay and Galvin alumni to open new Italian restaurant: Cardiff operator A&M Hospitality Group, which is the brainchild of former Gordon Ramsay and Galvin brothers alumni Andrei Maxim and Daf Andrews, is set to open a new Italian restaurant in the city. Terra Mare, which translates as ‘land and sea’ in Italian, will take over the site of the former Libertine cocktail bar on the city’s High Street. Opening this autumn, the restaurant will offer 50 covers inside, with an additional 25 on an outdoor terrace. Guests can begin with cicchetti (small snacks) before moving on to antipasti (appetizers), primi piatti (first course), secondi piatti (main course) and dolce (desserts). Each day, two kinds of pasta will be crafted in-house by chef Francesco Germinario, whose family roots trace back to Puglia. There will also be a wine list showcasing a variety of Italian wines, Champagne and Prosecco by the glass, and a bespoke cocktail menu. “We are thrilled to be bringing the spirit of Puglia to Cardiff,” said Andrews. “Terra Mare will be a celebration of the Italian way of life – of taking the time to savour each moment, each bite and each sip.” In July, the group announced it would be opening a new brasserie and bar at the Coal Exchange Hotel in the city. Aura, which opens in September, will offer modern European cuisine, a cocktail menu and all-day dining. A&M is also behind high-end restaurant Silures in Wellfield Road in the city. Maxim and Andrews, who founded A&M in 2021, previously worked at Savoy Grill by Gordon Ramsay, Galvin Bar & Grill and The Coral Room.