East Anglia
The Crown Southwold, Suffolk In spite of the fact that the Crown is owned by brewer Adnams and is only a minute's walk from the Sole Bay Brewery,...
Archives for January 25, 2007
West Country
The Cow Parkstone, Dorset David Sax says wine has always been one of his passions. In August 2003, he was able to impart that passion to a wider...
Wise up and bow to the inevitable
The clock is ticking on the final countdown to the smoking ban, but as Graham Ridout discovers, far too few pubs are prepared for the change Time is...
Spring menus: There is a season...
TONY BLAIR got more than he bargained for when he went for lunch at the Duke of Cambridge, in Islington, London. The PM was taken to task by the...
Calm after the storm spurs Laurel's growth
It looks like a corner has been turned at Laurel Pub Company, the high-street operator with an estate of just under 400 venues. It's been a...
London
A Grelha at the Gun Coldharbour, London E14 Grelha is Portuguese for grill and that is what serial entrepreneurs Ed and Tom Martin have introduced at...
Police to allow mugshots of troublemakers in Wigan
Police have assured licensees in Wigan that they will look into allowing mugshots of troublemakers to be distributed to pubs.The issue hit the...
Thwaites pub scores treble
The Albion in Carnforth, Lancashire, came up trumps at an awards ceremony for Thwaites managed pubs - by scooping three gongs. Albion managers John...
Five deadly sins of smoke ban planning
It's important to learn from mistakes - and when it comes to the smoking ban, licensees in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have an opportunity...
A bitter skill to swallow
I suppose something is news if you haven't heard it before. So it was with the poker case that concluded last week, described by some eager beavers...
Win £1,500-worth of outdoor equipment
A lucky MA reader can win £1,500-worth of outdoor equipment for their pub in the third Plan for the Ban giveaway. Over the coming months, the team...
Proposals written up on gaming in pubs
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has set out new proposals to control the provision of gaming in clubs and premises licensed to sell alcohol.
Tec Rentals' deals may prove illegal
Up to 100 customers of Smartbox sister company Tec Rentals may be able to keep their equipment without forking out another penny. The Morning...
Statutory guidance: who really needs it?
The long-awaited full revision of the statutory Guidance under the Licensing Act has now appeared. I don't know whether the trade expected the Holy...
Tec Rentals' deals may prove illegal
Up to 100 customers of Smartbox sister company Tec Rentals may be able to keep their equipment without forking out another penny. The Morning...
Sell More, Save More: the chosen ones
Licensees Aaron Lynn and Anne and Alistair Dowson-Park are hoping for increased profits after being chosen for The Publican's Sell More Save More...
A beautiful era beckons for Pernod Ricard
Pernod Ricard is upgrading its forecast for the current year's net sales organic growth to six per cent.The upward shift follows what the group said...
No longer the ugly duckling
The Ostrich in Colnbrook, Berkshire, has just undergone a £500,000 refurbishment. David Hancock finds out more With the busy M4 and M25 motorways...
Chris Maclean: A problematic regular
I am afraid one of my regulars is a bit of a problem. He's a good old boy and he's eighty-five. He used to come in three times a week but his health...
What next for Woodward?
A little healthy competition never hurt anyone. Still, there may have been a few food suppliers to the pub trade reaching for the aspirin last...
LETTERs
Kiely got what he deserved After reading about the business mishap to Peter Kiely (MA, Big Rent Hike Ousts ex-Provence boss, 18 January, p11), I feel...
West Country
Bournemouth Town Watch Bournemouth Town Watch chair Steve Hudson believes its biggest success has been appointing the UK's first night-time economy...
West Country
True Lovers Knot Tarrant Keyneston, Dorset It's a fact of life that very few pubs make any concessions for blind or partially sighted- customers. But...
A question of quality
Industry figures explain why the Marston's and MA CaskForce scheme is vital when it comes to improving cask ale The start of a new year is a time for...
Welcome return for Directors
Once, long ago, when keg beer was in the ascendancy, a fellow journalist lured me to a pub in London's Westminster, on the grounds that "they serve...
THE GUV'NOR
Yvonne Cleminson The licensee of the Cherry Tree in Rowledge, Surrey, urges participation in Community Pubs Week Now that the excitement and...
Spring menus: Freshening up
Spring is about to be sprung, with all the imagery that comes with it. Yes, milk maids and cute lambs larking through the fields, dew on freshly cut...
Bolton targets satellite pubs
Premiership club Bolton Wanderers is seeking licence reviews of pubs around the Reebok Stadium that show foreign satellite football. Bolton said it...
THE AGENTS
Never before have top-quality, high-turnover food outlets been available in such numbers on the retail-to-lease market, allowing those big company...
Spring menus: World of kitchens
New Year, new flavours? Pubs are increasingly a focal point for the latest in fusion flavours, as exotic spices, seasonings and cooking styles blend...
MyNewPub
Blue Bell Inn, Farnah Green, Derbyshire Agent: Guy Simmonds John Flint and Tracey Tunnicliffe have bought the freehold of the Blue Bell Inn off an...
TV duo on the move - again
A mother and daughter who found their dream pub through the Channel Four property programme Relocation Relocation have put it on the market. The...
Guinness plans for low-volume pubs
Guinness is to launch a bar-top unit that delivers draught quality Guinness from cans in the UK on-trade. The device, known as the Surger, was first...
BarTalk
What has been the reaction Jade Goody's antics in Big Brother? Steve Murphy Church House Inn Bollington Cheshire There's been little sympathy for her...
Yorkshire & North East
Shibden Mill Inn Shibden Mill, West Yorkshire Wine is a serious business at the picturesque Shibden Mill Inn and the pub's enthusiastic members of...
North West
Liverpool City Centre Pubwatch Liverpool is developing at break-neck speed in the countdown to becoming European City of Culture in 2008. A safe and...
Home-grown foodie leads the pack
Paul McCrystal tells Ewan Turney how a passion for home-made British food and quality real ales helped him increase turnover by 25% year on year at...
Interest rate threat to licensed market
Interest rates are now reaching a level where they will directly affect the licensed property market - that's the view of Guy Simmonds managing...
Supermarket alcohol pricing to be investigated
Licensees finally have their chance to make a stand against alcohol pricing in supermarkets. The Competition Commission (CC) has stunned the...
Local authorities should pick up licensing regs tab
Local authorities should pick up more than half of the near-£100m in extra costs inccurred while implementing the licensing regulations, the...
Court ruling: poker games need permit
Unlicensed poker played in pubs for money is still illegal following a landmark court ruling, experts have warned. The jury at Snaresbrook Crown...
Punch host wins village mast battle
A Punch tenant has taken on the might of the pubco and mobile phone company, 3, and won. Peter Williams, of the Axe and Square, in the Leicestershire...
Legal advice: Distress remedy ripe for revision
Distress is an ancient remedy by which a landlord who is owed rent is able to take possession of goods which are on the tenant's premises. He can...
Marston's High Street sites to get Que Pasa treatment
Marston's says it expects to convert up to a dozen of its own unbranded High Street bars into Que Pasa sites, following today's purchase of EP.The...
Challenges for 2007
In the last of our three-part series on trade issues, Mark Charman shares his experience as a Midlands-based multiple lessee who has run more than...
Pub loses out in pool prize plan
A Bristol licensee claims he has been mislead by a company offering prizes to customers in a pool competition. Andy Long, licensee at the Oldbury...
East & West Midlands
Herefordshire Against Night-time Disorder Herefordshire Against Night-time Disorder (HAND) is successfully tightening its grip on alcohol-induced...
South East
Riverside Tavern Strood, Kent Peter Foreman has a track record for introducing ideas to the Riverside Tavern. When he reopened the rundown pub after...
East Anglia
Peterborough Centre Safe "Socialise responsibly - get a nightlife, don't get a ban" is the message that Peterborough Centre Safe (PCS) is drumming...
Local authorities to pay licensing shortfall, says panel
The Independent Licensing Fees Review Panel, recommends that local authorities pay the £97m shortfall created by the implementation of the licensing regulations last year.
Marston's acquires Eldridge Pope for £155.1m
Marston's has acquired Eldridge Pope, the bar and pub operator, from Michael Cannon, for £155.1m.
Bolton Wanderers targets satellite football pubs
Premiership club seeking licence reviews of pubs that show foreign satellite football on matchdays.
NewsDigest
Details of the licence-fee review are expected to be revealed later this week, with a favourable outcome for the trade anticipated. The MA...
South East
The Swan at the Vineyard Lamberhurst, Kent With a pub named the Swan at the Vineyard, most people would naturally assume that the wine offering is...
InBrief
Island trade up CI Traders, the Channel Islands-based pub, bar and restaurant operator, reported a 4.3% like-for-like sales increase for the 21 weeks...
BBPA set to oppose proposed glass ban
The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) is fighting back against growing support among MPs for a glass ban at venues that open after 11pm. In...
Pubs ignore fire safety
A third of pubs have done nothing to comply with the new fire safety regulations that came into force on 1 October last year. Hosts who have failed...
Working the FA Cup numbers
Thirteen from the top, 14 from the next, three from the next and a couple from the last. At first glance, you might think you're reading a Count-down...
Licensing@aol.com
When free drinks are not really that free Q We supply wine and beer on a wholesale basis to businesses in this area who give them away to their...