Happy Out Coffee, born out of a mobile coffee company travelling the length and breadth of Ireland catering markets, festivals, parties, weddings, Pride and corporate events, has taken up residence in City East on Newtownards Road.

Open daily from Monday to Saturday, the menu ranges from early morning bakes to lunch time favourites of sandwiches, wraps, toasties, stews and soups, accompanied by high quality coffees and non-coffee options, until early evening.

Owners Vic Young and Alex Campbell have partnered with their new business partner Eamonn McGill in their expansion to their new bricks-and-mortar café space and are incredibly passionate about the food and coffee being served.

Vic said: “Our beans are supplied by Bailies Coffee Roasters – a local speciality coffee company dedicated to the ethical and sustainable sourcing of their beans by working directly with some of the finest coffee farmers and their communities”.

“The Bailies Coffee perfectly complements our carefully curated traybake menu and vice versa, with everything fresh-baked daily, including options available for vegan and gluten free dietary requirements.

There’s a full range from croissants to accompany the first coffee of the day to traybakes including decadent Belgian chocolate brownies, white chocolate blondies and sponges. A sweet indulgence is a must following one of our daily specials which can be anything from an overnight slow cooked meat dish to a fulsome flavoured soup with fresh-baked focaccia, as we change it up every day.”

Speaking about welcoming the new tenant at City East, Jonathan McAlpin, Chief Executive of East Belfast Enterprise, said: “At East Belfast Enterprise we are committed to nurturing and assisting in the growth of new businesses, and we are very excited to welcome Happy Out Coffee to our café space on Newtownards Road.

“As well as providing our entrepreneurs with onsite homecooked food and speciality coffees, the local community can start their day with a takeaway coffee, sit in and sip a cuppa and watch the world go by ahead of their commute into the city centre, drop in for lunch or enjoy a well earned afternoon snack.

“We wish the Happy Out Coffee team every success in their expansion as they put down their roots in City East while their van continues to clock up the miles.”

The post Happy Out Cafe finds bricks and mortar home appeared first on Licensed & Catering News (LCN) - News Coverage from the Local Trade.

The family-owned company behind Belfast’s Europa and Grand Central hotels posted a £6.9 million profit-before-tax for the year ending October 31 2023.

The accounts for the Hastings Hotels Group include the trading business for its six northern hotels along with its hotel management company, which between them, employed 836 people towards the end of last year.

The group recorded a 17.5% increase in turnover to £50.7m last year, according to documents filed with Companies House.

Alongside its two flagship Belfast city centre hotels, the accounts include the activities of the Culloden Estate and Spa, Ballygally Castle, Stormont Hotel and Everglades Hotel in Derry.

That restructuring saw the establishment of William Hastings Group Ltd, which incorporates the family’s property investment interests.

It also factors in the Hastings family’s 50% stake in the Merrion Hotel in Dublin.

The accounts for William Hastings Group Ltd show that side of the business recorded a pre-tax profit of £3.3m in the year to October 31 2023.

The same accounts indicate the ‘demerger of the Hastings Hotel Group’ involved a cost of around £2.5m.

Based on the accounts filed with Companies House, the Europa remains the most successful business in the Hastings Hotels Group.

Its revenues grew by 27% last year to just under £16m, with the Great Victoria Street hotel posting a pre-tax profit of £2.3m.

With a staff of 272 people, it also remained the largest operation within the group.

The nearby Grand Central Hotel, which had a staff of 191 on its books, posted an operating profit of £1.5m in the year to October 2023.

The Culloden Estate and Spa remains another continuing success story for the hotel group.

Its £10.2m turnover last year produced a pre-tax profit of £1.3m.

The Stormont Hotel (£5.1m turnover), Ballygally Castle (£3.4m turnover) and the Everglades Hotel (£2.8m turnover) all remained profitable in the last financial year.

The group’s hotel business did face a £2.4m tax bill last year, which left it with a total income of £4.8m in the year to October 2023.

According to Companies House, Howard Hastings (61) holds the controlling stake in the family business.

The post Hastings Hotel Group sees profits soar by 62% appeared first on Licensed & Catering News (LCN) - News Coverage from the Local Trade.

The group, which owns restaurants including Brewers Fayre and Beefeater, said the job cuts are still subject to consultation and come from its total UK workforce of 37,000 employees.

It said the move was part of a plan to “optimise” its food and drink offering to add more than 3,500 hotel rooms across its estate and increase “operational efficiencies”.

There are currently eight Premier Inn Hotels across Northern Ireland and nine in the Republic.

A ninth 81-bed Premier Inn Hotel is currently being progressed by Co Armagh firm JH Turkington next to Belfast International Airport.

Whitbread said it plans to sell 126 of its less profitable branded restaurants, with 21 sales already having gone through.

It will also convert 112 restaurants into new hotel rooms.

Dominic Paul, Whitbread chief executive, said: “We recognise that our transition will impact some of our team members so we will be providing support throughout this process and we are committed to working hard to enable as many as possible of those affected to remain with us.”

The FTSE 100 company announced pre-tax profit of £452m for the year ending February 29, up 21% on the year before.

The company’s total food and beverage sales were up only 7% year on year, driven mainly by breakfasts in the restaurant chain.

Food and beverage sales were down 2% for the seven weeks to April 18, the most recent period on record.

As a result, Whitbread said the cost-cutting programme will save about £150m over the next three years.

Whitbread also said it will offer a £150m stock buy-back to shareholders in the next six months and increase dividend payments by 26% this year.

The post Premier Inn owners set to axe 1,500 jobs appeared first on Licensed & Catering News (LCN) - News Coverage from the Local Trade.

A Vietnamese restaurateur is bringing the Southeast Asian country’s coffee tradition to a new store in south Belfast.

The post Vietnamese coffee tradition brought to Ormeau Road appeared first on Licensed & Catering News (LCN) - News Coverage from the Local Trade.

Owners Christina and Jonny Taylor cited the financial strains of operating the restaurant, including escalating wages and the rising costs of local produce in making Blank financially unviable and the venue will close its doors in June this year.

Christina and Jonny also operate Shed Bistro on the Ormeau Road in the city and Christina spoke of her regret having to take the difficult decision on Blank.

“We took a gamble in October 2021 with the opening of Blank which was a new dining concept for a restaurant in Northern Ireland and for more than two years it has worked. However the ever increasing cost of doing business and the amount of staff we need on site simply renders Blank unviable. The cumulative pressure has become too much and we feel we need to redesign the restaurant offer at that site.

“The margins in operating such a fine dining restaurant are very finely balanced. While we have always been very busy at weekends, it has been more difficult to attract customers midweek and far too often we get last minute cancellations, often of more than one table.

“When that happens it makes that days trading unviable. I really hope customers take this on board, and give a restaurant booking the same status and respect that goes with a theatre or a concert booking.

“Blank will remain open until June 8th and I urge anyone who wants to have the Blank experience to do so. All Blank vouchers should be used in that period too.”

“All of the staff from Blank will be transitioning to our new restaurant which we are determined to make a success. Unlike Blank, this new venue will offer a more casual and accessible dining experience with an order-from-the-menu concept. The Blank experience is hard to accept but we will be part of the restaurant scene in Belfast and in Northern Ireland for the long term.”

Tables for Blank’s new restaurant, which is yet to be named, will be available to book from Friday 3rd May.

The new restaurant will continue using local produce, offering a more relaxed dining experience that celebrates the best of Ireland’s culinary bounty.

The post Owners’ regret at having to close award-winning Blank appeared first on Licensed & Catering News (LCN) - News Coverage from the Local Trade.