All Opinion articles – Page 30
-
OpinionAre hotels the new high streets?
With several branded restaurants recently announcing additional openings within hotels, as they look to become less reliant on the high street, Helen Gilbert looks at how the benefits can work both ways
-
Opinion
Cashless is king
Never one to stay out of the news for long, earlier this week irreverent craft brewer and bar operator BrewDog was revealed to be trailing a cashless model at its Clerkenwell site, with a view to rolling it out across its c60-strong estate. MCA checks in on the trajectory of the cashless trend, including new insight from Flyt
-
Opinion
Breaking through the glass ceiling
Victoria Stewart, finance director at The Alchemist, discusses how to excel in a male dominated world, balancing family-life with a high flying job, and how to break through the glass ceiling
-
Opinion
Will AI be a game-changer for the eating and drinking-out sector?
Georgi Gyton looks at the potential impact AI could have on the eating and drinking-out sector.
-
Opinion
Perhaps they are on to something
Unsolicited bids for the Azzurri Group, a tenanted pub sector rife with M&A speculation and an acquisitive BrewDog, sector consolidation is back on the agenda, and not just for those looking to pick up the fallout from the current round of Company Voluntary Arrangements
-
OpinionNo lounging around
Loungers will today open its 100th Lounge site (see news story below) and set out plans for further growth. Co-founders Alex Reilley and Jake Bishop each give their take to MCA on what it feels like to reach that mark
-
Opinion
'There will be a lot of interest in keeping the business going'
Operators across the sector have watched on with increasing incredulity at the crisis engulfing wholesaler Conviviality. As the company behind Matthew Clark and Bibendum fights for its very survival, MCA assesses how the situation escalated so quickly and what the implications are likely to be. Includes comments from AlixPartners’ Graeme Smith and analyst Mark Brumby.
-
OpinionA peek in the Wagamama lab
Wagamama’s executive chef Steven Mangleshot has been at the forefront of innovation in the casual-dining sector. Here he talks to Food Spark’s Tom Lee about what’s going on in his Noodle Lab
-
OpinionOn a walkabout with Stonegate
Stonegate chief executive Simon Longbottom talks to Georgi Gyton about the company’s strategy of building a presence in city and town centres through its stable of brands and formats.
-
OpinionFocus on: AlixPartners Growth Company Index
The AlixPartners Growth Company Index 2018, announced earlier this month, highlights the fastest growing operators in the sector but there are still a number of the brightest talents in the industry who did not make the list. Here we profile a few to watch for next year’s index.
-
Opinion
Cawston's top soft drinks trends
With the sugar tax just round the corner, and soft drinks being given an artisan makeover, Cawston Press managing director Steve Kearns gives his predictions on the top emerging soft drinks trends
-
Opinion
Brigade mentality: How Framptons is taking on market town high streets
A trio of former paratroopers have swapped military discipline for genteel all-day hospitality. MCA hears how Framptons is looking to take on market town high streets.
-
Opinion
YO! on attracting female talent
YO! Sushi employs around double of the number of female chefs then the national average. On International Women’s Day, YO! people and operations director Jo Childs discusses the legacy of equality at the group, and what it does to attract and retain female talent.
-
OpinionHold your Italian stallions
This weekend Carluccio’s became the latest business to come under the spotlight. The wider press is smelling more CVA blood and before we talk another sector business down that route, Mark Wingett asks whether we should hold our horses a minute on this one?
-
OpinionSector must rally behind new apprenticeship platform
With Apprenticeship Week approaching, Brewhouse & Kitchen executive chairman Kris Gumbrell takes aim at overpriced university courses, and calls for the industry to rally behind an apprenticeship platform to solve the skills gap
-
OpinionCDG looks to spread the risk
Experience counts and judging from the latest trading update from the Casual Dining Group (CDG) it is helping the business combat the current nervousness spreading across the market. Its latest trading update paints a picture of a resilient business diversifying to spread the risks thrown up by a soft market and producing an impressive EBITDA performance when put up against the barrage of costs it has had to absorb. Mark Wingett looks at what else it has up its sleeve.
-
OpinionOff the hook
Loch Fyne never delivered the returns Greene King hoped for when it paid £68m for the business. With the pub operator and brewer trying to off load the brand again, Mark Wingett ask if it is worth casting the net out for
-
Opinion
How the Sethi siblings have changed the London dining landscape
Whether it’s property, concepts, market segments or choosing the best partners, the now 10-strong JKS Restaurants is yet to put a foot wrong. Restaurant magazine deputy editor Joe Lutrario explores what gives the sibling trio the running formula.
-
Opinion
Gamble with consumer trust at your peril
The new NFU president used her maiden speech to attack pubs and restaurants for misleading diners about where their food comes from. Oakman Inns chief executive Peter Borg-Neal and MCA director of insight Steve Gotham give their take on the intervention
-
OpinionBuilding a brand, not a chain
M Restaurant founder and former Gaucho MD, Martin Williams, has been outspoken of late about the root cause of the poor performance of many casual dining giants. He has accused them of offering customers a “mediocre offering in a soulless environment”. He talks to James Wallin about his belief in building a brand rather than a chain.