Friday News Bites
At Food Alert we are aware of the struggles facing many in the hospitality sector, but we also know that this sector is resilient. That’s why we do our best to use Friday News Bites to shine the spotlight on good news.
This week we discover the identity of Proud Mary and raise a glass to a Bank Holiday boost for restaurants. We give a high five to a Northampton café doing great things within its community and finally hear from our MD, David Bashford, who has been telling the media about our new digital tool, Check65.
UK’s first Proud Mary Pub
Food Alert client, REKOM, has announced that it is launching the UK’s first Proud Mary Pub in Cardiff. The £1.2 million investment will open at the end of October in time for Wales’ rugby clash with New Zealand (5 November). Operating over two floors, with a 950 capacity, Proud Mary Pub will be a relaxed, party pub with the blended fun and festive atmosphere of a German bier hall. A second site has already been confirmed in Swansea, with up to 20 planned nationally. We can’t wait to be introduced to Proud Mary!
Bank Holiday Boost
With worries of rising costs, it was great to read Barclaycard Payments’ latest report, which shows that UK restaurants benefited from 8.32% increase in transactions across the August bank holiday weekend. Harshna Cayley, Head of Online Payments, Barclaycard Payments said: “The sunshine across much of the UK saw Brits make the most of the Summer Bank Holiday by supporting restaurants nationwide. Despite concerns about the rising cost-of-living and inflation, our data shows Brits are still keen to socialise and spend money to dine out with friends and family.”
Café offers life skills to young adults with special educational needs
The Place To Bee, located in Kingsthorpe, is an inclusive cafe and old-fashioned sweetshop and is celebrating its first anniversary. The café offers students with special educational needs (SEN) the opportunity to learn skills in a small business environment, which stands them in good stead for voluntary and paid work in the future. The Place To Bee is also part of the Too Good to Go scheme, where any food waste is sold online for a cheaper price. Packages contain £10 worth of food, but are sold for £3.99. We definitely can see why this is the ‘Place To Bee’!
Stress-free compliance? Check!
In case you have missed it, our MD David Bashford, has been speaking to the media about the launch of our new app, Check65. Owners and operators can create checklists and schedule temperature checks then push these out to their teams quickly and easily. Team members complete daily ‘due diligence’ and operational checks via a slick, clean interface on Check65. These checks are only one part of the compliance puzzle. Check65 also provides training guidance to team members as they’re completing checks so they understand their importance as well as capturing corrective actions when there are problems. You can read David’s interview with The Caterer in full.