Casual Dining
We report on the business of casual dining, a key segment of the UK foodservice sector encompassing high-street restaurant brands, all-day dining concepts, and accessible, mid-market hospitality. This includes our coverage of openings, closures, financial results, menu innovation, tech integration, and leadership moves across the casual dining space. Whether you’re managing a national chain or operating a regional brand, we deliver timely insight into the pressures, pivots, and opportunities shaping this highly competitive market, with a focus on operational performance, consumer trends, and commercial sustainability.
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Dec- 2018 -6 DecemberFood and Drink
Star Pubs and Bars announces Birds Eye partnership
Star Pubs and Bars has announced it is launching two off-the-shelf menus in partnership with food manufacturer, Birds Eye. The move is designed to make it easy for licensees to capitalise on the growing family eating out market, which has seen a 3.2% year-on-year increase. The menus will be available…
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6 DecemberBusiness
UK restaurant closures accelerate to over 10 a week
The number of restaurants in Britain slipped by 2% over the year to September 2018, the new edition of the Market Growth Monitor from CGA and AlixPartners has revealed. Research showed that Britain had a total of 26,892 restaurants at September. The net fall of 539 restaurants marked an “acceleration…
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3 DecemberRestaurants
US chain Eggslut to open London restaurants
US restaurant chain, Eggslut, famous for its egg based dishes, is set to open a series of London restaurants. In an announcement today (3 December), the chain said “an initial London site will be announced early in the year with more set to follow”. The chain opened its first branch…
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Nov- 2018 -28 NovemberPeople
Chef Michael Caines to open restaurant in Exmouth
Award-winning chef Michael Caines MBE is the latest tenant to join property developer Grenadier’s new scheme on Exmouth waterfront. Caines, who grew up in Exeter, will be opening a restaurant with a bar and café area with a brand new food and drink offering for visitors. His plans for the…
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27 NovemberFood and Drink
Steak house chain launches the ‘Brexit Burger’
To help Britons count down to the Brexit deadline, steak house chain Steakout will be offering a Brexit Burger and French fries meal. The Brexit Burger will be a “topsy-turvy concoction of cultures” with a British beef patty, smothered in neutral Swiss cheese, Steakout’s own burger sauce, some Spanish Lettuce…
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26 NovemberBusiness
CDG wins tender to open Warrens Bakery site at Bristol Airport
Casual Dining Group (CDG) has added another eating-out brand to its concessions and franchising portfolio, after winning a tender to open a Warrens Bakery franchise store at Bristol Airport. The new site at Bristol Airport will take over from an existing Soho Coffee site, in the autumn. The 84-cover venue…
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22 NovemberEducation
HIT launches production chef apprenticeship
HIT Training has announced a new production chef apprenticeship, meaning the training providers now offer a program for every kind of chef, from fine dining through to contract catering and casual dining. The new apprenticeship has been added to the current suite to respond to high demand from businesses eager…
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19 NovemberBusiness
Pub and restaurant group sales remain flat in October
Britain’s managed pub and restaurant groups saw collective like-for-like sales grow just 0.2% in October, according to the latest figures from the Coffer Peach Business Tracker. Underlying like-for-like growth for the Tracker cohort, which represents both large and small groups, was running at 0.7% for the 12 months to the…
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15 NovemberBusiness
CDG signs exclusivity deal for Las Iguanas, Oriel and Bella Italia in UAE
Casual Dining Group (CDG), the operator of mid-market restaurant brands, has agreed a new franchising deal for its Las Iguanas, Bella Italia and Oriel Grande Brasserie brands in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The deal with RELAM Investment will give exclusivity to open and operate the brands in the UAE…
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14 NovemberAdvice
Customer at the heart: product and pricing strategies
With increasing financial pressures and a tough climate, casual dining brands strive to balance winning custom with achieving margins. Certainly not easy to achieve simultaneously. We ask how operators can both grow their margins, and entice new (and often price-sensitive) customers, all while maintaining their current customer base and staying…
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