All ASK Italian articles
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LongreadsHow technology is revolutionising the post-pandemic restaurant sector
At the end of 2019, if a customer wanted to order and pay for their food using their mobile phone the number of restaurants in which they could do this would have been relatively small. Fast forward to this year and, once lockdown is lifted, the number of places offering digital order and pay will be significantly bigger.
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Analysis & Insight
AlixPartners: Gradually building momentum
Just over a month since restart, it is obvious that the sector’s revival will take time, and sadly it will not include everyone.
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News
Anand steps down from CDG
Rooney Anand has stepped down from his role as non-executive chairman of Casual Dining Group.
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News
How Azzurri Group went into administration
One of the star performers in a competitive casual dining sector, and an even more competitive Italian subsector, Azzurri Group was formed out of the break-up of Gondola.
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News
Azzurri latest to announce closures after rescue deal
The Azzurri Group has been acquired by TowerBrook Capital Partners via a pre-pack administration process, but 75 sites will close. Azzurri, which is made up of 301 restaurants including Zizzi, Ask and Coco di Mama, said when the coronavirus hit it acted “swiftly to protect its employees and customers, deciding to close all restaurants ahead of the government’s lockdown. Azzurri took all possible steps to protect the financial position of the business by ceasing all capex, renegotiating rental payments and food supplier costs and furloughing all restaurant staff and non-critical central staff.”
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News
Azzurri in advanced talks over pre-pack sale
Azzurri Group could be on the verge of a pre-pack administration which would involve the closure of 20-25 restaurants, The Times reports.
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News
Epiris frontrunner to buy CDG
The former backer of TGI Friday’s is in advanced talks to buy Casual Dining Group, Sky News reports.
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News
Azzurri sounds out sale
Ask Italian and Zizzi operator Azzurri Group is exploring a sale of the company, Sky News reports.
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Interviews
Azzurri CEO Steve Holmes: Things are changing all the time
Do you remember what is was like to go to a restaurant and order a plate of spaghetti? I miss it hugely, and I’m just a hungry customer. So how does Azzurri CEO Steve Holmes, who runs 295 restaurants, feel about seeing his entire estate shut down? “It’s desperately sad, because we’ve made really strong progress over the last four years,” he says. “Zizzi’s NPS score moved up to number six, the highest ever. Ask was also racing up. We opened an Ask in Westfield just before everything closed and it was trading incredibly well.”
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News
Debt enforcement moratorium still needed - MCA poll
More than half of operators, (54%) said that their landlord had refused to offer any concessions, with an additional 34% saying that negotiations were ongoing, according to the latest weekly Hospitality Leaders Poll by MCA Insight/HIM. The results highlight further the need for a debt enforcement moratorium, one of the key pillars of Hospitality Union’s original six-point action plan, to give both commercial tenants and landlords breathing space against litigation.
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News
GBK and Azzurri reportedly appoint advisors
Gourmet Burger Kitchen and Azzurri Group have reportedly appointed advisors to assess their options going forward through the coronavirus crisis.
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Analysis & Insight
Steve Gotham: Turning up the heat and other NPD delights
New product development (NPD) is rightly recognised as a lifeblood for the eating out industry, and MCA’s Menu Tracker offers insights into the latest menu trends and influences across 150 leading operators. This review only serve as a taster, but the three courses have each been accompanied with three key summary insights.
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Longreads
Bangkok bounce back?
Once the darling of the Thai restaurant scene, Busaba has had a tough few years, with falling profits and site closures. Now with a simplified offer and a fresh focus on the capital, it’s looking to bounce back
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News
Ask fined £40,000 for lack of lobster
Ask has been fined £40,000 after selling a ‘misleading’ plate of pasta - although it got a discount off the bill for pleading guilty. The Italian chain, owned by parent company Azzurri, had been selling its £14.95 Aragosta e Gamberoni dish, described as lobster and king prawns in a tomato and chilli sauce, since 2014.
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Analysis & Insight
And the 2019 consumer award winners are…
While we are in the midst of the entertainment awards season it would be most neglectful not to extend this to the worlds of foodservice and hospitality.
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News
The Highs and Lows of Promotions
In recent weeks I have looked into various elements of economising behaviour by consumers, including targeting low prices and more spending at weekends as opposed to weekdays, today’s focus is on the widely prevalent, yet potentially damaging, practice of promotional activity. Key questions asked include whether its usage is rising, who’s buying into the offers the most and what are the most popular promotion types. The core focus area is the key dinner day-part within the chain restaurant sector and the source of answers is MCA’s consumer tracking service, the Eating Out Panel.
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News
Jo Fleet named ‘unsung hero’
Flat Iron, Wagamama, Caravan and Lina Stores were among winners at Restaurant magazine’s R200 Awards held in London last night (4 December).
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News
Low price champions
Given the prevailing weak outlook for consumer confidence, it seems inevitable that more risk averse and belt-tightening behaviours will come to the fore.
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Opinion
Steve Holmes: ‘If you wind the clock forward, people will eat out more than ever’
Relevant operators can grind out profit growth, but it’s not an easy time, Azzurri Group’s Steve Holmes has told MCA.
