Café Rouge to roll out up to 50 mini takeaway outlets – For more hospitality stories, see what the weekend papers say

Café Rouge to roll out up to 50 mini takeaway outlets Tragus is to roll out a mini version of its flagship Café Rouge brand in train stations across the country following a successful pilot that opened at Euston station last month. With just 50 seats, Café Rouge Express outlets are smaller than the usual restaurants and operate a takeaway-style format that, unlike the Café Rouge outlets in airports, does not require waiters. The group, which has become embroiled in the discount voucher culture on the high street, hopes to open up to 50 Café Rouge Expresses in a bid to expand sales beyond set mealtimes by offering on-the-go snack items. - 27 March
Read the full article in the Sunday Telegraph >>

Protestors smash Ritz hotel windows
The Ritz hotel was one of the targets of a splinter group of violent activists on Saturday at a demonstration attended by around 500,000 people protesting against Government cuts. Hundreds of hooded demonstrators laid siege to the five-star hotel near Green Park, hurling paint and smoke bombs and smashing windows with road signs and bins. - 27 March
Read the full article in the Mail on Sunday >>

Pizza delivery firms enjoy 900% mark-up on ingredients

Read the full article in the Daily Mail >>

Wagamama outlines expansion plans
Noodle bar chain Wagamama has revealed more details of its expansion plans following its £215m acquisition by private equity firm Duke Street. It intends to roll out both company-owned and franchised outlets across the USA, where it currently has three outlets in Boston, and will debut in Washington DC in the autumn. It will also accelerate its expansion in Britain from 12 new outlets this year to at least 15 per annum in following years. Wagamama has 70 UK outlets and 36 franchised restaurants in 16 countries across Europe, the Middle East and Australasia. Meanwhile, it is rumoured that Nando's is seeking a buyer for the six Real Greek restaurants it snapped up last year when it bought Clapham House Group. - 26 March
Read the full article in The Times >>

Luxury golf resort fined £120,000 over Legionnaire's death
The four-star Piperdam Golf & Leisure resort near Dundee has been fined £120,000 after a guest died from Legionnaire's disease. Edward Warnes, 60, died in April 2008 after his family spent a week at one of the resort's lodges, while his partner recovered from a shorter version of the disease. Angus Council found that the strain that killed him was present in a hot tub and two showerheads in the lodge where they stayed at Piperdam. - 26 March
Read the full article in the Scotsman >>

Pub landlord jailed for gross negligence manslaughter
A pub landlord has been jailed for two years in a rare case of gross negligence manslaughter after a customer plunged to his death through a cellar door he may have mistaken for a gents' toilet. The accident occurred on 11 July last year and the body of the victim, 36-year-old James Teasdale, was not discovered until the following Wednesday because the landlord was on a health and safety course. Leeds Crown Court heard that three other guests had also suffered injuries falling down the cellar stairs, with the first case taking place just a month after landlord David Bell, 51, took over the Zest bar in Scarborough in August 2009. - 27 March
Read the full article in the Mail on Sunday >>

Edinburgh bar shut after drunks found serving each other
Licensing chiefs have closed down the Balfour Bar on Edinburgh's Leith Walk for three months after police reported more than a dozen incidents of crime - including a case of "drunken patrons serving themselves and others behind the bar". A series of fights led to one customer being permanently disfigured after a glass was smashed in his face. Local representatives have expressed mounting concern over the level of crime in Leith Walk and are hoping the suspension will send a message to other pub operators in the area. Balfour Bar is owned by Kingdom Taverns, which leases the building to an individual landlord. - 26 March
Read the full article in the Scotsman >>

By Angela Frewin

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