Training

Punch director: 'Are your staff empowered to give great customer service?'

07-Apr-2016 By Paul Pavli, Punch

I was fortunate enough to enjoy a fantastic customer service experience recently. In fact it was so good, I can't stop telling everyone about it and now I'm about to tell you too…

PMA events

What’s the future of beer and cider?

07-Apr-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

The first Future Trends: Beer and Cider event organised by the Publican’s Morning Advertiser (PMA) will be held in London on 22 June and will arm the trade with insight into the sector’s latest new product development and innovation.

Barman shames sexist customer who abused his staff

05-Apr-2016 By Oli Gross

A barman has publicly shamed and barred a 60-year-old customer he accused of being sexist towards female staff in his pub.

Food safety

Pubs should push meat origin after monkey meat find

01-Apr-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Food-serving pubs should push assured meat and produce on their menus, following the recently revealed record global haul of illegal food and drink by the European police agency Europol last month.

Pub uniform supplier launches flagship West End store

31-Mar-2016 By Ed Bedington

A leading uniform supplier to the hospitality sector is bringing a little haute couture to the sector with a launch of its new flagship West End store.

Big Interview

‘Pub’ is the buzz word for Diageo, says sales director

31-Mar-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

‘Pub’ is the current buzzword at Diageo as the drinks giant’s sales director Ronak Mashru is very keen to get across. Nicholas Robinson finds out why

FLVA president: good relationship with BDM is vital

31-Mar-2016 By Emily Sutherland

Licensees must strive to forge closer relationships with their business development managers (BDMs) and pub companies, according to Federation of Licensed Victuallers Association (FLVA) president Michelle Dwan.

NLW

PMA survey: Only 20% see the new national living wage as positive

30-Mar-2016 By Mike Berry

Only one fifth of licensees think the new national living wage (NLW) is a positive development for the pub trade, an exclusive poll of Publican’s Morning Advertiser (PMA) readers has revealed.

Pub Success

Pub Success: Part 3 - Going multiple

30-Mar-2016 By Nigel Huddlestone

You’ve got your foot on the pub ladder, improved your premises or even traded up, and now you want another site. Nigel Huddleston looks at what you must consider

Advice

How to deal with the National Living Wage

29-Mar-2016 By Mike Berry

Comment and advice from licensees, multiple operators and pubcos on how best to deal with the National Living Wage.

Legislation

Top tips for licensees on dealing with the National Living Wage

29-Mar-2016 By PMA

How to deal with the introduction of the National Living Wage and make it work successfully for your business.

Analysis

The National Living Wage: How is it going to impact pubs?

29-Mar-2016 By Mike Berry

The new National Living Wage (NLW) comes into force on 1 April and for many licensees will be as welcome as a bad prank on April Fool’s Day.

Fuller’s chefs face off in Chefs’ Guild Scholarship finals

23-Mar-2016 By Daniel Woolfson

Fuller's chefs enrolled in the London-based pub company's Chefs' Guild internal training and development programme faced each other at a cook-off at the University of West London yesterday (22 March).

Britvic soft drinks review

Premiumisation helps lift soft drink sales in the on-trade

21-Mar-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Soft drinks sales in the licensed and leisure channel grew by 3.2% in volume to 1.9bn litres last year, with trends such as all-day dining, premiumisation and food-led socialising driving the uplift, according to Britvic’s latest soft drinks review.

Food safety

Rare burger risk warnings ‘not enough to save you in court’

21-Mar-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Warning pub customers about the potential dangers of ordering and eating high-risk foods – such as oysters and rare burgers – is unlikely to be enough of a defence to stave off prosecution in the event of legal action.

Families still feel unwelcome in pubs

18-Mar-2016 By Emily Sutherland

Families visiting pubs, bars, cafes and restaurants still experience “covert or overt animosity” and are acutely aware of being unwelcome, according to new research.

Beer quality issues cost pubs £300m in lost profit

17-Mar-2016 By Ed Bedington

Quality issues on beer could be costing the pub sector more than £300 million a year in profit, a new report has claimed.

Allergens: ‘May contain’ labelling unlikely to protect against prosecution

17-Mar-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

'May contain' warnings on pub menus to alert customers to potential food allergens in dishes may not be enough to safeguard operators against prosecution, an expert has warned.

Pub success

How to trade up your pub

17-Mar-2016 By Nigel Huddleston

When David and Linda Galea wanted a new challenge in their pub careers, they decided to head to the seaside.

Sugar tax

Will pubs pay for Osborne’s sugar levy?

17-Mar-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Pubs must not pay the price for George Osborne’s new sugar levy, trade bosses have warned, while soft drinks makers fear the plans could cripple innovation in the category.

Sport

Creating a winning team when it comes to showing sport

15-Mar-2016 By BT Sport

Having a team that’s enthusiastic and able to engage with customers about sport will help make your pub a winning venue. Here are some tips for building a strong team and boosting sales.

Pensions

Pension checklist: What you need to know about auto-enrolment

15-Mar-2016 By Ben Winstanley

Pension auto-enrolment is a term that strikes dread into the many uninitiated licensees who are fast approaching the deadline for setting up a scheme. Ben Winstanley finds out what you really need to know.

Greene King pledges to take on 10,000 apprentices

14-Mar-2016 By Emily Sutherland

Greene King has pledged to take on 10,000 apprentices over the next three years.

Healthy eating

Calorie counting "not important" for consumers

09-Mar-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Calorie labelling on pub food menus could be irrelevant, as new research from Mintel shows the information far from tops consumers' priorities when looking for nutritional guidance.

Operators

Brewdog: Twitter storm over James Watt's appearance on TV show Who's the Boss

09-Mar-2016 By Emily Sutherland

Brewdog co-founder James Watt has come under fire after appearing on BBC TV programme Who’s the Boss, which sees bosses give existing staff the power to employee a new manager.

My Shout

BII Chairman Pender: "While the leadership is changing, the BII aim remains the same"

04-Mar-2016 By Anthony Pender, BII chairman and co-founder, Yummy Pub Co

As I’m sure the majority of you will have noticed, there are big changes afoot at the British Institute of Innkeeping.

Running a pub in association with Star Pubs & Bars and Punch

Pub Success: Part 1 - Starting out in the pub trade

03-Mar-2016 By PMA

Starting out as a newcomer to the pub trade can be a challenge. In the first of this three-part series, the Publican’s Morning Advertiser (PMA) talks to a selection of pub operators at the start of their pub career journey.

THE BIG INTERVIEW

Young's' executive chef Chris Knights: rise of casual dining was 'double-edged sword'

02-Mar-2016 By Daniel Woolfson

The chef world has changed immeasurably since Chris Knights was peeling potatoes in the kitchen of his mum's pub at age 13.

Twisted Burger boosts the Yard’s food sales by 50%, but could rise to 300%

29-Feb-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Food sales at Yorkshire pub the Yard, Ilkley, have rocketed by more than 50% since the franchise Twisted Burger launched there in early February, the Publican’s Morning Advertiser (PMA) has learnt.

Recruitment

Pubs warned over sexist recruitment advertising

29-Feb-2016 By Mike Berry

Licensees who advertise for a barman or waitress could fall foul of equality law and face prosecution, according to new guidance.

Casual Dining

National living wage 'could be positive for pubs'

25-Feb-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Pubs can thrive under the national living wage (NLW) when it comes into force on 1 April, two operators have said, despite dire warnings from other trade leaders who say otherwise.

Reader Survey

National Living Wage: Last chance to voice your views on survey

24-Feb-2016 By Mike Berry

The new National Living Wage (NLW) comes into force on 1 April and will provide a huge challenge for the pub trade.

Legislation

Immigration Bill: Fresh warnings about 'Draconian' new powers to close pubs

24-Feb-2016 By Emily Sutherland

Barrister Gary Grant has warned licensees that police and local authorities "have real teeth" to tackle pubs who employ illegal workers.

Winners of the BBPA’s Parliamentary Pub Chef of the Year awards announced

24-Feb-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

The two winners of the British Beer and Pub Association’s (BBPA’s) Parliamentary Pub Chef of the Year awards were announced last night (23 February) at a ceremony in the House of Commons

Chef shortage

MPs and trade call for action to solve pub chef shortage

23-Feb-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Trade leaders and Members of Parliament have called for action to solve the pub chef shortage at an awards ceremony at the House of Commons last night (23 February).

Health

Calorie labelling: Trade warns pub food quality will take a hit

22-Feb-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

While groups concerned with health matters argue all pub and restaurant food menus must have calorie content labelled on them, Nicholas Robinson finds out why that’s not as simple as it sounds

Food Safety

Britain’s fruit and veg supplies ‘overlapped by drug cartels’

22-Feb-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

The countries supplying Britain's fresh fruit and vegetables are overlapped by drug-smuggling gangs, an expert in the field has revealed, following warnings that operators may have long-since been at risk of many types of food fraud.

Star Pubs & Bars pumps a further £75,000 in chef training

18-Feb-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Star Pubs & Bars will pump £75,000 into its food chef consultancy programme, rolling it out to 100 licensees, following its success in 36 pubs in 2015.

training

Poll shows need for better training in pubs

17-Feb-2016 By MC Allegra FS

A new poll has shown customers consider bars and wet-led pubs are trailing the rest of the sector in terms of training their staff.

Pub apologises after breastfeeding discrimination claim

15-Feb-2016 By Oli Gross

A pub has insisted its policy is to always welcome breastfeeding mothers after a group of parents claimed they were discriminated against when they visited with their babies.

Hot Shots: Are you a pub trade rising star?

10-Feb-2016 By Mike Berry

One of the biggest challenges the pub trade faces is attracting new talent and convincing people that the sector offers exciting and viable careers. The Publican’s Morning Advertiser (PMA) wants to meet that challenge head-on and showcase the diversity...

LVAs

Focus: The demise of the once-mighty LVAs

09-Feb-2016 By Phil Mellows

Early in the new year, one of the pub trade's great institutions slipped a little further into the dustbin of history when Norfolk and Norwich Licensed Victuallers Association (LVA) was wound up after more than 160 years. Phil Mellows investigates...

04-Feb-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Paying closer attention to your staff’s working history, especially before hiring them, could help prevent a catastrophic incident of food fraud in your pub, a leading food safety advisor has advised.

Food Safety

Food fraud ‘very real danger to pubs’

04-Feb-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Food fraud and crime are very real and growing dangers to operators serving food, who should have strong preventative systems in place, a group of experts in the field have warned.

News Analysis: Food Safety

‘Multimillion-pound fines’ for unsafe food operators

04-Feb-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Diners need to know the food they are eating at your site is safe but some experts fear budget cuts could see a reduction in safety measures. Nicholas Robinson investigates

Top 50 Gastropubs

Double whammy for Freemasons at Top 50 Gastropubs

27-Jan-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Front-of-house manager Agnieszka Tyczka of the Freemasons at Wiswell, Clitheroe, Lancashire, brought home the gastropub’s first award of the day at the Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs.