All Opinion articles – Page 9
-
OpinionOakman: Table service benefits discerning family customers
The pub might be “finally be reinventing itself” and moving away from lad culture, Oakman CEO Dermot King has suggested.
-
OpinionFast food is winning in the delivery market
Arguably, the foodservice delivery channel was a winner all round in 2020, reporting year-on-year growth of +48% and accounting for £2 in every £10 spent on the eating out market.
-
OpinionDominic Walsh: Bold moves in a pandemic
Sometimes you need a bit of luck in life. When I started my first job in journalism, as a reporter on what was then called Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, little did I know that the third person I was introduced to when I was taken on a tour of the office to meet my new colleagues would become my wife and the mother of my children.
-
OpinionPeter Martin: A convenient truth
If the public can’t come to us, we’ll just have to go to them. That’s been one of the great lockdown mantras of the last year.
-
OpinionOpportunities for less expensive (and sustainable) fitouts
When it comes to restaurant design, doing it sustainably and saving money do not always go hand in hand. Insulating a building to minimise heat loss, energy saving technologies and doing things ‘properly’ all cost money.
-
OpinionPeter Martin: Talking about my generation
Man walks into a pub and asks the GM how much she’s paid. Before she can answer, the stranger offers her £20,000 a year more to go and run one of his businesses.
-
OpinionDavid Read: The cost of food and cooking
I read this morning that sector bosses are battling staff shortages as they prepare to welcome customers back indoors next month, quoting that in London and the south east, where the shortage is most acute, the going rate for waiters has already risen from about £11 to almost £15 an hour. Some kitchen staff are commanding salaries a third higher than before Covid struck.
-
OpinionAs the industry reopens, a familiar challenge lurks
To say a lot has changed over the past year would be an understatement. The pandemic has ripped through the hospitality industry, bringing a relentless barrage of new challenges with each wave of restrictions and lockdowns.
-
OpinionPeter Martin: Are we wasting precious time?
Boris Johnson’s government has not had a great pandemic. Not only does the UK have one of the highest Covid death rates in Europe, but has also suffered one of the biggest falls in GDP.
-
OpinionDominic Walsh: Deliveroo’s unforgiveable errors
There’s no two ways about it. The flotation of Deliveroo on the London Stock Exchange was an unmitigated disaster. Will Shu may wish to blame market volatility for the 30% slump on the first morning of trading, but the truth is there were myriad factors that came together in an unholy alliance to derail what should have been a landmark moment in the entrepreneur’s life.
-
OpinionPeter Martin: Delivering the unexpected
Would it be such a bad thing if pubs had to display calorie counts on draught beer pumps or restaurants the same on wine lists?
-
OpinionThe revival of the West End starts here
Since the first lockdown just over 12 months ago, we have seen a major shift in eating habits.
-
OpinionPeter Martin: Life on the frontline just got harder
With just days to reopening outside in England, and little over a month to indoor trading, pub and restaurant operators should be fully focused on finalizing the operational details for those big dates, and with no distractions.
-
OpinionEditorial: Covid passports can’t be ruled out
Our government has hardly earned a spotless reputation for its competence, so it was perhaps little surprise that the Easter weekend’s announcement was mired in confusion and chaos.
-
OpinionTake Popeyes’ plans with a pinch of Cajun
In the heady years of 2009-2018, stories of aggressive expansion plans were ten a penny.
-
OpinionDavid Read: The absentee may be about to return
The cost of food and drink at the back door has changed very little for operators since as far back as early 2019. For most of us that feels like a lifetime ago.
-
OpinionPeter Martin: Licensed to disrupt
I should have been in Nottingham last week to raise a pint or two to celebrate 50 years of the Campaign for Real Ale.
-
OpinionRent debt leaves a bitter taste
As firms up and down the country are starting to count the days until they are finally able to reopen, businesses are also starting to count the true cost of the pandemic as they stare at a mountain of debt. While there is hope and elation, there is also a very bitter taste in the mouth as the unfairness of it all becomes increasingly apparent.
-
OpinionDominic Walsh: Time at the bar
When Ralph Findlay announced he would be stepping down as chief executive of Marston’s at the end of September, after 20 years in the role, I experienced a number of emotions.
-
OpinionPeter Martin: Happy face, or serious face?
It’s one of those bittersweet moments for hospitality, and business leaders could be forgiven for feeling just a little nervous about how to react for fear of being misread.