City Diary: 24 July
On Bud alert for any A-B action
Does Inbev's takeover of Anheuser-Busch have any implications for plucky Czech underdogs Budweiser Budvar, who have been involved in a 102-year trademark battle with the American company? Budvar UK chief executive Tony Jennings says: "The new owner has no reason to push Bud into Europe where it has many brands already. Given their reputation for stringent house-keeping, they may be less keen to continue waging the costly legal battle against us. If they do we're ready for them, and we have the advantage of having fought this war successfully for years".
Dine with celebs at Toby Carvery
Who doesn't love a carvery? Mitchells & Butlers reports a spotting of footballer Robbie Fowler treating his family to a nosh-up at the Toby Carvery in Bridgend. Alun Davies, manager of Bridgend Toby Carvery, says: "He was really friendly, very approachable and even took time to have photos with children from other tables." Fowler follows in the footsteps of carvery fans Victoria Beckham, Charlotte Church, Gavin Henson and Shilpa Shetty. Posh Spice was spotted in a Toby Carvery in Surrey with sons Brooklyn and Romeo, while Wales's top celebrity couple had to cancel a planned trip to their local Toby last year when pregnant Charlotte started having contractions in the car park. Alun adds: "Charlotte and Gavin come into the Bridgend restaurant regularly, and the Welsh rugby team often pop in for a roast with all the trimmings." Dine with the stars at Toby carvery!
No need for doom and gloom
Deutsche Bank analyst Geof Collyer has left for a two-week vacation in Cornwall. He tells City Diary: "Have just realised that we are staying next to the Sharp's Brewery in Rock. Its main beer is called Doom Bar, so it looks like I won't be able to get away from my sector after all."
JDW in the drink in Lancashire
JD Wetherspoon's decision to name a new pub after the name of well-known teetotaller has caused something of a stir in the Lancashire mill town of Colne. The company's £1.2m venue is to be named the Wallace Hartley, in memory of one of the town's most famous sons who was bandmaster of the Titanic on its doomed maiden voyage back in 1912. But a number of townsfolk are perturbed that the name of the devout Methodist is now being linked to drink. Hartley is buried in a local cemetery and a statue of the musician is sited prominently on the town's main street. As the sinking liner was about to meet its fate, Hartley reportedly insisted his orchestra remained on deck to play the hymn Nearer My God to Thee. JDW spokesman Eddie Gershon said it was always company policy to name pubs relevant to the history of the local area. "It's getting on for 100 years since Wallace Hartley died and things have definitely moved on since those days. You could not walk into a pub during the early 1900s and buy tea, coffee, food and a wide range of soft drinks," Gershon points out.
Gee deliberates the deli dilemma
Carluccio's co-founder Stephen Gee is now operating the Real Food Pub Company, an Enterprise Investment company that has — for now — a single site, the Clanfield Tavern, Clanfield, near Oxford. Will he look to open on-site deli shops in the style of the Italian restaurant chain? He says: "We've considered on-site shops, as well as weekly farmers' markets in the car park, even our own microbrewery. We already sell homemade jams and other local produce sourced from the village. One thing I've learned from my Carluccio's experience is that very few customers used the deli shop and restaurant at the same time. They eat one day, and came back to shop on another."
Calling the bill to sort the bill
It sounds like a lively afternoon at one pub owned by a well-known managed company.
A 19-strong party kicked up a fuss about the service and items on the bill. Next thing, the police were invited to attend. One of the group says: "Two of the people in our party received no meals, drinks were ordered and not delivered, there was no bread, no side plates and the roast potatoes were burnt. We complained and, hey presto, the police were called!" City Diary won't be naming the managed company on the basis that there are two sides to every story.
More news on stars with bars
Bad publicity about pub closures is not putting off celebrity licensees. Girls Aloud star Sarah Harding is buying a pub. She has been looking at a drinking establishment close to her hometown of Stockport.
A source told a downmarket tabloid: 'She'd love a gastro theme, based around local dishes. She's lost a lot of weight during the Girls Aloud tour and is looking forward to eating well." Bless.
Late bloomers at Orchid's pubs
They like the ladies at Orchid Group, the managed operator headed by Rufus Hall. The company has seen an 8% increase in female landladies in the past year. More generally, the average age of the company's landlord and landladies is 38. Oldest employee is glass collector Heinz Albrecht, 82, who works at one of City Diary's locals, the Druids Head in Brighton.
M&B aims for a carvery century
When will Mitchells & Butlers Pub and Carvey brand, the budget carvery offering that offers a roast dinner for £3.50, reach a century of sites? There are new openings at Tollgate in Coventry and at Town House in Norwich to take the score to 94. Also coming are openings in Canterbury, Stockport, East Kilbride and Battle to take the tally to 98. "We're very nearly there," says an M&B spokeman. "But I think it'll be the new financial year before we go through the 100 mark."
