More news from the hospitality and foodservice industry…
Sales Holding Up
Encouraging figures from Britain’s leading restaurant and pub operators show that sales overall are holding up against last year despite the squeeze on consumer spending and increased competition from supermarkets.
Aggregated figures from 12 major groups show that like-for-like sales in May were ahead 0.6%, with month on month out of home sales ahead compared to April.
Greene King reported recession-defying sales in the early summer, with like -for-like sales over the eight weeks to the end of June up by 5.2%. The Scots are even thirstier as sales at the group’s Belhaven pubs north of the border soared by 10.2%. Rooney Anand, chief executive of the Suffolk brewer, which runs 1,100 UK pubs and has another 1,400 tenants, had this to say:
The weather is clearly playing a part. Whether it is people wanting a drink at lunchtime or after work, they are more relaxed and want to take advantage of al fresco drinking.
Open for Dogs
The Kennel Club is looking to honour catering establishments – such as restaurants, hotels and pubs – that go out of their way to make owners and their four-legged friends welcome and have begun a nationwide search for such businesses to be recognised in The Open for Dogs Awards 2009.
Log on to www.openfordogs.org.uk
Fight Hunger – Eat Out
UK’s leading chefs and caterers are whipping up industry recruits for international humanitarian organisation Action Against Hunger and its annual fundraising campaign: ‘Fight Hunger – Eat Out’ that runs through October.
Raymond Blanc, Antonio Carluccio, Giorgio Locatelli, Oliver Rowe and Michael Roux Jr are among a host of culinary greats calling on fellow chefs and restauranteurs to join the campaign.
Cheerful Soul Launch
Michele English and Russell Clement, winners of BBC TV 2′s The Restaurant hosted by Raymond Blanc, are busily trading in their new restaurant, The Cheerful Soul in the Hare & Hounds in Marlow, Berkshire.
The renovation of the 17th Century pub that is home to the new eatery took 3 months of hard work and dedication led by the catering couple.
There are two areas: a bar dedicated to locals, offering a variety of British beers and Pimms on tap; as well as bar snacks and a 70-cover restaurant driven by seasonality and British produce.
The current menu takes inspiration from great British produce sourced from across the South and coastal areas.
See the August issue of Eat Out Magazine for more articles and news from the catering industry.
