Spirits boost drinks sales recovery while wine trails behind

Drinks sales have continued to edge further back towards pre-Covid levels in August, with spirits emerging as the leading category helping to catapult the on-trade towards recovery.

The Drinks Trust and The Burnt Chef Project partner to broaden mental health services

The Drinks Trust and The Burnt Chef Project have joined forces to extend their mental health services, with the Drinks Trust making their helpline available to users of The Burnt Chef Project and vice versa.

Drinks Trust backs PR internship for pandemic-affected workers

The Drinks Community – the professional members platform from The Drinks Trust – has partnered with UK drinks public relations agency Domino Communications to offer an internship for those working in the hospitality and drinks industry, whose livelihoods have been negatively affected by the pandemic.

Restaurants and bars emerge as the big winners of Freedom Day

Britain’s managed pub, restaurant and bar groups lifted sales back close to pre-Covid-19 levels in July, new data has revealed, with restaurants and bars benefitting the most from the easing of restrictions.

‘Pingdemic’ eases as self-isolation rules change

Hospitality workers who are double-jabbed will no longer have to self-isolate at home for 10 days after coming into contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid.

The Langham appoints new Artesian bar manager

The Langham, London has appointed Lorenza Pezzetta as bar manager of its ‘World’s 50 Best’ Artesian bar.

Bar trend for cocktails spills into nightclubs

Nightclub visitors have, in line with trends seen after the restart of restaurants, pubs and bars from April, been celebrating reopening of the sector with cocktails, according to CGA research.

Bouncing Back Q&A: Des Gunewardena, D&D London

C&C Group appoints Harriet Kininmonth as wine trading director

C&C Group has appointed Harriet Kininmonth to the newly created position of wine trading director.

‘Pingdemic’ brings more pain

Pandemic restrictions may have been lifted, but for hospitality businesses desperate to welcome punters back, a new challenge is thwarting their ambitions. Lisa Riley reports

Limited edition wine launches to raise funds for Hospitality Action

Indigo Wine and online wine retailer The Sourcing Table have partnered with top Burgundy producer Mischief and Mayhem, and the Observer political cartoonist Chris Riddell OBE, to launch a wine to benefit the charity Hospitality Action. 

Industry welcomes NHS Covid-19 app changes to ease ‘pingdemic’

Trade associations have welcomed news that the Government is to update the NHS Covid-19 app to reduce the numbers of people being forced to self-isolate.

Investment in hospitality sector halves in Q1

Business investment in the hospitality sector halved in the first quarter of this year on an annual basis, according to the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data.

Bar Convent Berlin returns following Global Bar Week digital team-up

Bar Convent Berlin (BCB) is set once again to be a standalone, in-person event when it returns to Germany’s capital this year in its brand new home.

Nicholls appointed hospitality disability ambassador

UK Hospitality (UKH) CEO Kate Nicholls has been appointed as the hospitality sector’s first disability ambassador to date as part of the government’s new National Disability Strategy.

Hospitality footfall boosted by ‘Freedom day’

The lifting of all Covid-19 trading restrictions in England on 19 July saw a significant boost in footfall, according to the latest Presence data from Wireless Social, with the UK reaching 80% pre-Covid levels.   

‘Freedom day’ provides lift for bars

The long-awaited easing of Covid restrictions on 19 July saw like-for-like drinks sales at a GB level dropping by just 5% on the same day in July 2019, according to CGA’s Drinks Recovery Tracker.

Venue closures and reduced service looming for hospitality

The hospitality sector is facing a summer of venue closures and reduced service following the government’s decision to leave the industry off the self-isolation exemption list, UK Hospitality (UKH) has warned.

Shannon Tebay takes the top job at the American Bar

Shannon Tebay has been appointed as the head bartender at the American Bar at The Savoy, also taking on the role of senior mixologist at the hotel.

'Easing of restrictions does not mean easing of challenges'

The scale of the challenges facing hospitality businesses as they look to rebuild from the effects of the pandemic means government support continues to be essential, key industry bodies have said.