Casual Dining

Oakman Inns & Restaurants’ sixth site: The Blue Boar, Witney

01-Dec-2011 By Luke Nicholls

Oakman Inns & Restaurants, the five-strong pub restaurant operator, is set to unveil The Blue Boar in Oxfordshire this month following a £1.5m restoration programme of an 18th Century coaching inn.

How to run a sustainable restaurant or pub

01-Dec-2011 By Emma Eversham

It is now almost two years since the Sustainable Restaurant Association launched in a bid to help restaurants, pubs and caterers become more sustainable and hundreds of businesses have since been audited and rated.

Majority of diners expecting to use discount vouchers in restaurants this Christmas

30-Nov-2011 By Emma Eversham

Restaurants offering discounts to diners are set to remain popular this Christmas with 71 per cent of diners saying they intend to use them to get money off meals out during the festive season.

Chancellor George Osborne offers help to SME businesses in autumn statement

29-Nov-2011 By Emma Eversham

Chancellor George Osborne has offered help to small and medium-size businesses (SME) in his autumn statement, which also promises to relax red tape around health and safety and make it easier to take on apprentices.

Travelodge begins aggressive expansion with pub and supermarket deals

29-Nov-2011 By Luke Nicholls

Travelodge has announced plans to develop seven new hotels alongside supermarket developments and pub companies as part of an ‘aggressive growth strategy.’

£1bn youth jobs fund: The hospitality industry’s reaction

28-Nov-2011 By Luke Nicholls

Following the recent revelations that the Government is to inject £1bn of new funding into a new scheme to tackle youth unemployment, leading hospitality industry bodies have given BigHospitality their thoughts on how it could affect the sector.

‘Beer can be a sales driver for restaurants,’ says Master Beer Sommelier

25-Nov-2011 By Luke Nicholls

Master Beer Sommelier Mark Stroobandt believes restaurants across the UK ‘aren’t giving beer the respect it deserves’ and has given his top tips of beer and food matching to increase a business's footfall.

New road salt plant aims to help leisure industry combat wintry conditions

25-Nov-2011 By Rachel Parkes

Workplace product specialist Slingsby has invested in a new road salt distribution centre and bagging plant, in an effort to meet the demand from the hospitality sector over winter.

Robert Cook: What the restaurant and pub industries can learn from the hotel sector

25-Nov-2011 By Luke Nicholls

Malmaison and Hotel du Vin chief executive Robert Cook has claimed that restaurants and pubs should be applying similar business approaches and sales techniques to those used in his hotels if they want to increase profits.

Compass cuts salt sachet contents by 25%

25-Nov-2011 By Rachel Parkes

Contract caterer Compass has reduced the contents of its salt sachets by 25 per cent, as part of a government drive to improve the food on offer to the nation.

Wadworth launches Dray Bells Christmas ale

25-Nov-2011 By Luke Nicholls

Wiltshire-based brewing company Wadworth has launched Dray Bells Christmas Ale, featuring festive aromas and tastes.

IDEAS FROM YOUR PEERS

Gospel Brunch at Altitude 360 and Wednesday Wine at Playboy London

25-Nov-2011 By Luke Nicholls

Restaurants, hotels, pubs and bars from across the UK including Altitude 360, Playboy London, Sandman Signature Hotel and The Beach Bistro tell BigHospitality about special events they're running to attract more customers.

No statutory code for pubs as BBPA agrees legally binding reforms

24-Nov-2011 By Rachel Parkes

The British pub industry is to adopt legally-binding reforms to how they manage the relationship between pub companies and tenants, avoiding the government’s threat of statutory regulation.

Byron named Best Overall Restaurant Chain of 2011

24-Nov-2011 By Luke Nicholls

Byron, the rapidly-expanding hamburger chain, has been voted the Best Overall Restaurant Chain of 2011 at the third annual R200 Awards run by Restaurant magazine.

Laurent Perrier Champagne bar to join Marco Pierre White’s restaurant at Birmingham’s Cube

23-Nov-2011 By Luke Nicholls

Birmingham’s iconic and futuristic-looking leisure venue The Cube is set to welcome the addition of the Laurent Perrier lounge, a new £150,000 skyline Champagne bar adjoined to Marco Pierre White’s new restaurant.

TripAdvisor being used to “blackmail” hoteliers

22-Nov-2011 By Rachel Parkes

Dishonest guests are using review site TripAdvisor to try and ‘blackmail’ hotel owners into giving them free upgrades and refunds, according to reports today.

Pubs provide ‘shop window’ for rural Britain

22-Nov-2011 By Luke Nicholls

The Great British Pub is ‘crucial to the tourism offer in rural areas’, providing a ‘shop window to Britain, reflecting their urban or rural setting.’

Richard Caring: Westminster parking charges ‘the dumbest thing I ever heard’

22-Nov-2011 By Luke Nicholls

Richard Caring, chairman of Caprice Holdings which manages several West End restaurants including The Ivy and Scott’s, has slammed Westminster City Council’s (WCC) decision to extend car parking charges in the area to midnight Monday to Saturday.

Restaurant magazine reveals nominees for R200 Awards 2011

22-Nov-2011 By Luke Nicholls

Byron, Giraffe and Zizzi have all been nominated for the Best Overall Restaurant Chain award at Restaurant magazine’s R200 Awards 2011.

Mitchells & Butlers sales up 4.9%

22-Nov-2011 By Rachel Parkes

Mitchells & Butlers (M&B), the managed pub company, has seen sales rise by 4.9 per cent in 2011 to £1.76bn, boosted by an increase in food sales by 7.8 per cent.

How to impress in an interview

22-Nov-2011

You’ve found your dream job and have bagged yourself an interview, but failing to make the right first impression on the day can halt your job application in its tracks.

Amber Taverns plans 30 new pubs in “unfashionable” community sector

21-Nov-2011 By Rachel Parkes

Community pub operator Amber Taverns is to expand after it secured £5 million in additional funding, the company announced today.

Marco Pierre White launches Greene King’s new apprentice programme

18-Nov-2011 By Luke Nicholls

Celebrity chef Marco Pierre White has teamed up with Greene King to back the pub group’s new Discovery Apprenticeship programme.

Could listening to Tom Jones give more body to a Merlot?

18-Nov-2011 By Luke Nicholls

Restaurant, bar and café owners accustomed to recommending wine to accompany dishes now face a new, rather bizarre challenge: matching background music to affect the taste of wine.

Gaggia Concetto automatic espresso machine serves coffee for pubs and bars 'at the touch of a button'

18-Nov-2011 By Luke Nicholls

Coffee machine supplier Gaggia have launched a new automatic espresso machine aimed at pubs and bars that want to alleviate pressure on staff.

Pearls of Wisdom: David Eyre

18-Nov-2011 By Emma Eversham

David Eyre grew up in the Portuguese colony of Mozambique before coming to the UK to study in his teens and where he has remained ever since. He opened the Eagle in Clerkenwell in 1991 before going on to launch Eyre Brothers, a sandwich bar in east London,...

Ever So Sensible Group acquires 11th site

17-Nov-2011 By Emma Eversham

Midlands-based pub and restaurant operator the Ever So Sensible Group has acquired its 11th site as part of expansion plans for the business.

M&B restructures operations: Three key staff members to leave

16-Nov-2011 By Emma Eversham

Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) has restructured the operational side of its business in a bid to simplify the company and drive forward the growth of its restaurant and pub brands.

Castle Rock named best UK brewer at SIBA Business Awards

15-Nov-2011 By Luke Nicholls

Nottingham-based brewer Castle Rock was announced Overall Winner at the SIBA Business Awards 2011, while a further eight brewers were recognised for their business development skills last night in London.

Sodexo Prestige to run restaurant and bar at The Montcalm

15-Nov-2011 By Emma Eversham

Sodexo Prestige has moved into the hotel sector for the first time to run the restaurant, bar and room service at the Montcalm on London's Park Lane.

Whitbread boss urges more businesses to back Payroll Giving scheme

14-Nov-2011 By Emma Eversham

Whitbread chief executive Andy Harrison is among a handful of business heads who are urging other companies to back the Payroll Giving scheme which allows workers to give part of their wages directly to charity.

'We need a rates freeze' hospitality leaders tell ministers

14-Nov-2011 By Luke Nicholls

Chief executives of the UK’s pub, hotel, restaurant and leisure industry trade bodies have today hit back at huge hikes in business rates planned for next year in a letter to cabinet ministers Eric Pickles and Vince Cable.

Consumers still eating out despite squeeze on finances

14-Nov-2011 By Emma Eversham

Consumers are continuing to eat out at 24 of the UK's biggest pub and restaurant operators despite a squeeze on their personal finances, latest figures show.

How to write the perfect job advert

10-Nov-2011

Kyle Rawles, sales executive at BigHospitality Jobs, gives his top tips on how to write a successful job advert to ensure hospitality business owners and HR managers attract the right candidates to their companies.

VAT, slow visa applications and red tape are main obstacles to industry growth

10-Nov-2011 By Emma Eversham

The UK's high level of VAT, the slow processing of visa applications and Government red tape are the three major obstacles to growth in the hospitality industry, according to the British Hospitality Association's (BHA) chairman Christopher Davy.

One in five hospitality businesses encounter pest problem

09-Nov-2011 By Luke Nicholls

Almost one in five hospitality businesses have encountered a pest problem in the past year, with a lack of effective cleaning and maintenance cited as the main cause for attracting rats, mice and ants.

Below-cost alcohol ban “an important first step”

08-Nov-2011 By Luke Nicholls

The Government is to introduce a ban on the sale of alcohol below the cost of the tax paid on it in an attempt to cut crime across England and Wales.

TripAdvisor launches dedicated customer support phone line

08-Nov-2011 By Luke Nicholls

TripAdvisor is rolling out a new customer support phone number for registered business owners and managers in a bid to send a “strong message” about the review website’s commitment to customer care.

TripAdvisor: Investigation reveals ease of faking reviews

07-Nov-2011 By Luke Nicholls

Reviews website TripAdvisor is again at the centre of controversy after an investigation has revealed an array of security loopholes that can be exploited at the click of a mouse.

ASK THE EXPERTS

How to handle customers during stressful situations

07-Nov-2011

Sharon Glancy, director of People 1st Training Company, suggests how reception or front-of-house staff should handle guests and customers when systems fail and the situation becomes stressful.

Number of UK bars falling into administration doubles

04-Nov-2011 By Luke Nicholls

The number of UK bars appointing administrators has more than doubled between quarters two and three, reflecting the deep-set, challenging trading conditions.