All interviews – Page 59
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InterviewsCreams MD Othman Shoukat: ‘Hospitality must diversify and redefine its business models’
The coronavirus crisis has served to accentuate disruption the hospitality industry was already facing, and now businesses must redefine themselves accordingly, MCA’s The Conversation has heard.
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InterviewsUber Eats UK GM Toussaint Wattinne: Double digit growth during lockdown
Operators are seeing double digit growth in delivery after volumes recovered, Uber Eats UK GM Toussaint Wattinne has told MCA’s The Conversation. Wattinne said after an initial fall-off when lockdown came into force, volumes quickly ramped back up, with strong growth for those that remained open. He told the virtual ...
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InterviewsInn Collection Group MD Sean Donkin: Domestic travel will be 'very strong'
The coronavirus pandemic could have an upside for regional UK businesses as Britons opt for staycations, Inn Collection Group MD Sean Donkin has told MCA.
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InterviewsPret CEO Pano Christou: We expect a permanent delivery boost
Pret a Manger expects to see a permanent boost in delivery volumes, with the lockdown accelerating its technology development by three or four years, CEO Pano Christou has told MCA’s The Conversation.
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InterviewsAlchemist CEO Simon Potts: ‘We’ll work to turn fear of going out into fear of missing out’
“Relaxed” isn’t an emotion easily associated with members of the hospitality industry of late, but Alchemist CEO Simon Potts seems to be the exception. In fact, with consumer behaviour throughout the pandemic largely dependent on their personal proximity to a relaxed state of mind, for Potts, a pragmatic and slow-paced reopening is the obvious route to a successful recovery.
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InterviewsJKS CEO Jyotin Sethi: ‘There’s a whole new dynamic being established’
The flagship names in the JKS collection, Gymkhana, Trishna and Brigadiers, are not the type of premium restaurants one would expect to readily translate into delivery.
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InterviewsChew on This CEO Ellen Chew: Restaurants need licensing relaxation
Intimate inner-city restaurant spaces won’t be able to reopen without a substantial relaxation in licensing rules, hospitality entrepreneur Ellen Chew has told MCA.
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InterviewsWhat it’s like to operate in lockdown part six: Caffè Nero
Caffè Nero Group CEO Gerry Ford talks to MCA about the extent of necessary on-site safety protocols, the encouraging response from staff and consumers so far, and what the business plans to do next.
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InterviewsMother Clucker co-founder Brittney Bean: The economics of delivery don’t stack up
Without a national timeout on rent, restaurants having to operate a delivery-focused business model through the phased reopening period “would never stack up economically,” Brittney Bean, Mother Clucker co-founder has told MCA.
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InterviewsAzzurri 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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InterviewsHugh Osmond: ‘Do we really think we can socially distance forever?’
Hugh Osmond is already a known lockdown sceptic, having written more than a month ago of his fears that the drastic measures could cause more deaths than the coronavirus itself.
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InterviewsPizza Express MD Zoe Bowley: Shared rent burden a ‘sensible short-term solution’
A three-way shared rent payment would be a “sensible route in the short term”, Pizza Express managing director Zoe Bowley has said.
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InterviewsOakman Inns COO Dermot King: 'We’re desperate for people to come out and enjoy themselves.’
Like many other operators, the fourth of July has become a focal point in the calendar for Oakman Inns, as it prepares to reopen its estate.
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InterviewsCharlie McVeigh: ‘The cure is becoming worse than the disease’
Draft House founder Charlie McVeigh has called on the hospitality industry to help the country turn a page and combat public FOGO – the fear of going out. McVeigh, who is chairman and an investor in The Breakfast Club and Butchies Fried Chicken, told MCA it was time to get ...
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InterviewsHickory’s: ‘We’re fortunate we’re not on the high street’
Hickory’s Smokehouse will be in a “fortunate position” when operators are allowed to reopen sites for dine-in, managing director John Welsh has told MCA.
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InterviewsMorgan Davies: ‘The rules of the game haven’t just changed, the game has changed’
The hospitality industry needs to reinvent itself in order to survive in a post-coronavirus world, Morgan Davies, Barburrito founder and CEO has told MCA.
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InterviewsStar: ‘Great opportunity’ for pubs in the future
Further grant support from the Government will be needed if pubs are to open under any kind of restrictions, Star Pubs & Bars managing director Lawson Mountstevens has told the Morning Advertiser.
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InterviewsTurtle Bay: Social distancing 'doesn’t work' in restaurants and bars
Turtle Bay “probably won’t be a viable business” under social distancing restrictions, founder and CEO Ajith Jayawickrema has told MCA.
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InterviewsD&D’s Gunewardena: 'We will try and do anything to make it work’
How the government defines physical distancing will have a huge impact on the viability of hospitality operations emerging from lockdown, MCA’s The Conversation has heard.
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InterviewsWhat it’s like to operate in lockdown part five: Franco Manca
Franco Manca opened five stores for delivery and collection on Friday after a two week in trial in Chiswick. David Page, chairman of parent company Fulham Shore, talks to MCA about the benefits of flat sharing pizzaiolas and why pre-coronavirus rents are not going to happen again.