Banker takes A-Z to court
A Swiss banker is taking A-Z Restaurants to court for the alleged non-payment for the Teca restaurant he sold the group in 1999.
Marco Bacchetta said he created Teca as a 74-seat upscale Italian restaurant in 1998 but sold it for about £500,000 to A-Z in 1999. He said he had not received a penny for the restaurant since its sale four years ago. The case, which was postponed from October last year, is scheduled to be heard in the High Court on 24 November.
CIEH wants "prior approval" for restaurants
The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health is calling for a new law that would prevent new restaurants from opening before they have been inspected, to ensure their compliance with food safety standards. The proposal to the Food Standards Agency for a "prior approval" scheme marks a switch from the institute's long-term lobbying for the licensing of food premises, which has been opposed as being too expensive and bureaucratic.
McDonald's denies plans for Baghdad outlet
McDonald's has refuted press reports that it is planning to open its first restaurant in Baghdad in a move said to have the backing of the US military. "There has been some misinformation out there so I can tell you that we are not planning anything," said a spokesman for the fast-food giant. "We are focused on running our 30,000 restaurants in 118 countries, all with our customers in mind."
Jobs go at Noble House
Noble House Pub Company has axed about 20 head office jobs after refocusing its estate. The group, which now has 55 managed pubs, has pulled out of the town-centre market and sold non-core branches in order to concentrate on destination locals in residential sites and gastropubs, where sales are 30% up year-on-year in both sectors.
As a result, the staff infrastructure created "to develop and support an emerging and expanding organisation" has been reorganised, leading to the redundancies at head office level, where 100 staff remain. No operational jobs have been cut.