Friday five: the week's top hospitality stories
- Chefs Kenny Atkinson, Alex Dilling, Adam Handling, Jeremy Chan, Chantelle Nicholson and Pip Lacey have been shortlisted in the Chef of the Year category at the Estrella Damm National Restaurant Awards 2023. The results will be announced at the awards, being held at The Hurlingham Club on 12 June.
- Like-for-like sales at Britain’s leading managed restaurant, pub and bar groups in March were 1.4% ahead of last year’s levels, the Coffer CGA Business Tracker shows. March’s rate is the slowest of the first three months of 2023 and substantially below the UK’s current rate of inflation. Pressure on consumer spending, mixed weather and rail strikes all contributed to the challenges facing operators over the month.
- A second shareholder in The Restaurant Group (TRG) has made known its intentions to vote against its remuneration policy, piling further pressure on the beleaguered casual dining operator. New York-based investor Irenic Capital Management has called for TRG to overhaul its current pay scheme, particularly with regard to CEO Andy Hornby’s salary.
- The Tommy Banks Group's latest venture, a pub with rooms in north Yorkshire, will open on 26 May. Called The Abbey Inn, it will be located down the road from Banks' Michelin-starred flagship restaurantThe Black Swan at Oldstead and serve a hyper-local, sustainably focused menu.
- A private member's bill intended to ensure hospitality staff receive all the money left to them in tips by customers will become law after clearing the House of Lords. The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Bill will amend the Employment Rights Act 1996 to require employers to ensure that all tips, gratuities and service charges they receive or exercise control over must be paid to workers in full without deductions and by the end of the following month.
