Friday five: the week's top hospitality stories
- Grouse could be off the menu for many restaurants this year with chefs staring down the barrel of a 50% price rise for the prized game bird as a record low in bird numbers see shoots cancelled. With early shoots not expected to produce many birds, prices are likely to be prohibitively expensive for many restaurants early on in the season when grouse is most prized by diners. A number of factors including very wet weather early on in the year, a parasite that destroys bird eggs, and a heather beetle that depletes the bird’s main food source have all contributed to high mortality rates of grouse this year. Young grouse - which are born in the spring - are expected to cost more than £25 per bird at the beginning of last season.
- Hundreds of people have signed a petition trying to prevent the opening of a Gail’s in Walthamstow Village. Members of the community have voiced their disquiet over rumours that the bakery chain is looking to open a site in the east London location, claiming that its arrival posed a threat to the area’s ‘uniqueness’. The petition, lodged on change.org and entitled ‘Prevent Gails (sic) from Establishing a Store on Our High Street’ reads: “Walthamstow Village, a vibrant local neighbourhood in London, UK, is treasured for its collection of local, independent, and family-run businesses. Our high street, a spotlight for these coveted establishments, faces a threat to its uniqueness with the prospect of Gails (sic), a large-scale bakery chain, setting up shop on it.
- More than a fifth of consumers never pay an optional restaurant service charge when eating out, new research has shown. In a survey of 2,000 consumers conducted by audit, tax and consulting firm RSM UK, 22% of consumers said that they never pay the optional service charge added to the bill. This jumps to more than a third in the South West (34%), 31% in the East Midlands and 30% in Yorkshire. Diners in London, Northern Ireland and Wales are more generous, according to RSM UK’s latest Consumer Outlook survey, with around a third of consumers in these regions regularly paying the service charge. London leads the way, with 33% of diners always happy to pay a service charge added to the bill, followed by Northern Ireland (32%), Wales (31%), the North East (29%), and Scotland (25%).
- Big Table Group is trialling a refreshed menu at three Frankie & Benny’s restaurants after discovering the brand’s remaining sites are mostly outperforming their neighbours. The trials involve a shake-up of the food and drink offering, which will see it lean into its New York-inspired origins, as well as a refresh of the service, look and feel, marketing and capex investment. With American comfort food and Italian American currently popular food trends, CEO Alan Morgan hopes leaning into this proposition will help shift consumer perceptions, with new items including bagels, and extension of dayparts through breakfast, brunch and lunch. At the same time, a further two Frankie & Benny’s sites will be converted to Bella Italia, a brand that drives lower sales, but higher profits.
- Gravetye Manor executive chef George Blogg is stepping down after more than ten years at the West Sussex hotel and restaurant. Blogg joined Gravetye Manor in 2014 and attracted a Michelin star the following year. The star has been retained for the past nine years with the hotel now also holding four AA Rosettes. He will be leaving Gravetye Manor - which is close to East Grinstead - in December. “Gravetye is a magical place that will forever be a part of who I am. The last 10 years have been an incredible journey and an utter privilege to work alongside some truly amazing people, whose passion and hard work have grown Gravetye to be a standout property,” Blogg says.
