Welcome to your latest instalment of News Bites – Food Alert’s run-down of the top stories making the hospitality headlines this week!
Rocketing sales on first day of outdoor trading!
April 12th marked a big day for the hospitality industry and it was a big day for drink sales too, with latest figures showing a 110% increase in like-for-like drinks sales compared with the same day in 2019. Around 41,100 pubs, bars and restaurants in Britain have outdoor space, equating to 38% of all sites. “On the whole, people’s behaviours were relaxed, positive and there was a sense of relief,” reflects Martin Williams, CEO of steakhouse group, Rare Restaurants.
Café chain La Pain Quotidien goes green
Vegan food and sustainable initiatives are on the menu for French café chain, La Pain Quotidien. As part of their reopening plans, the 16-strong chain plans to have a new all-day vegan menu including ‘Chill Sin Carne’ and The VLT Bun. To encourage customer take-up, the café has launched a new loyalty app offering double points for vegan purchases. As part of their new sustainability strategy, the brand intends to move away from single use plastics and opt for local suppliers, including Karma Cola and Snowdonia Cheese.
Pub pint calorie counts?
Outrageous! That’s the word that’s been used by the pub and brewing trade this week after reports that large pub chains could be forced to display calorie labels on pints of beer. No decisions have yet been made, but concerns have been raised over customers wellbeing and enjoyment of pubs. “The British people have had months without going to their local. Now is not the time,” said Emma McClarkin, CEO of the British Beer & Pub Association.
In the dog house…
Food Alert client, Brewdog, this week revealed new plans for a beer-themed hotel in Edinburgh. The new hotel in Scotland’s capital is set to offer beer on tap in all of the hotel rooms, mini bars filled with the “best beer on the planet”, and fridges in the shower for that all-important shower beer. Yep, you read right! Opening later this year, the independent brewer and bar operator also lifted the lid on plans to transform a former industrial unit on the banks of the Thames into a new brewpub concept at London’s Wapping Power Station.