New Pitcher & Piano smoking ban plans
Marston's Pitcher & Piano has launched a new menu and upgraded outside areas to help cater for smokers.
The new summer menu, which is P P's healthiest ever, places increased focus on fresh, low fat grazing dishes like sharers and salads, served on platters.
The aim of the new dishes is to help distract customers who would have lit up before the introduction of the smoking ban.
John Cruse, Catering Development Manager said: "While we are confident the smoking ban will be a positive development for all of our bars and in particular for our food trade, we are realistic enough to realise that not all of our customers will feel the same way. Our job has therefore been to look at ways to help our smoking customers adjust to the change - and giving the menu a renewed focus is just one way we have tackled this."
New dishes include pesto chicken skewers; duck, cashew and pomegranate salad; and Mediterranean tapas sharer, which includes a range of items from stuffed chillies to Italian cured meats.
In addition to the new menu Pitcher & Piano are also making other provisions to ensure their smoking customers are catered for.
Sweets will be available in the bars and the group has also invested heavily in upgrading its outdoor areas.
The Nottingham and Battersea bars now have the provision for outdoor drinking and dining with a canopy for shelter and outdoor heating to ensure they can be used all year round.
Around £300,000 has also been invested in the construction of a 110-cover roof terrace with a full-service bar in Derby.
Managing Director Mike Dowell said: "We are fortunate that many of our bars do have a good sized outdoor area which will become a real premium in July.
Rather than viewing these as separate spaces we look on them as extensions of our bars and thus want them to be as appealing to all of our customers as drinking and dining indoors."
