The event will be taking place at live music venue Band on the Wall on Tuesday 10 May plus, lunch at former market house Mackie Mayor before we visit some of the most vibrant and finest venues in the area on the study tour.
Organiser of the Northern Restaurant and Bar Show and Mr Manchester himself Thom Hetherington will be showcasing what’s going on in the city and the drivers behind the changes.
Fellow Manchester-based operators Dan Mullen and Andy Windsor from What We Want – the firm behind Albert’s Schloss – will be highlighting some of their current projects, talk about how they’ve helped regenerate the city’s bar scene and future plans.
Staff insight
MA Leaders Club
Want to join the club?
The MA Leaders Club is open to multi-site pub operators and meets three times a year around the country for a day of business-focused presentations from top experts and owner/operators. The day is followed by an evening study tour of new and exciting venues.
If you’re interested in joining, register here.
Furthermore, we will hear from Greater Manchester night-time economy adviser Sacha Lord ahead of the city’s night-time economy strategy will discuss where the sector is going wrong when it comes to its working environment and how it can improve, attract and retain more people.
On this note, we will be joined by a live focus group of hospitality workers to hear their thoughts on life in the trade, what they enjoy, and what they think could be improved upon.
With the continuing price increase issue, Lumina Intelligence’s Holly Franklin will present data from a newly launched service, which tracks the prices of menus across the hospitality sector and we’ll get an overview of key trends alongside what the service will offer.
Despite the challenges in the market, many operators are continuing to expand their portfolios and three top operators who are doing just that will be outlining how they are growing.
Growing pains
Inn Collection Group’s Sean Donkin, North Bar/Brewing Co’s John Gyngell and Nightcap’s Tom Kidd will tell us about their challenges and opportunities presenting currently.
In addition, while cask beer has been around for generations, but is in danger of losing relevance in the modern market. We speak to three generations of brewers to get their thoughts on the category and how we can revitalise a key product for pubs.
Chaired by brewer, campaigner and broadcaster Jaega Wise, we’ll be hearing different generational views from Michael Lees Jones, head brewer at JW Lees, Emma Gilleland, director of brewing at Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company, and Paul Jones, founder of Cloudwater.
Meanwhile, OrderPay and Iopay boss Richard Carter will also be informing delegates how they can take advantage of the influx of data they now have alongside how changes in the world of finance and FinTech can save the industry billions.