DRAM 304 December 2015

DRAM

304

DRINKS RETAILING AND MARKETING

@dramscotland

DRAM MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2015 ISSN 1470-241X

/dram.scotland

CLOONEY MEETS LICENSED TRADE A-LISTER WITHERS!

The one stop shop to the licensed trade

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DRINKS RETAILING AND MARKETING

WELCOME

I

never ever thought I would have George Clooney on my cover but this has definitely made my year.

The team at Tigerlily in Edinburgh, where he enjoyed lunch and the team at The George Hotel where he stayed, both did a great job! What a buzz his visit created, and what a good way to end the year.

I have to say 2015 has absolutely flown in. It seems only yesterday that I was writing my review of 2014. This year’s review is on pages 18 and 19.

We also have a great feature by Annabelle Love on licensing boards. She compares the time it takes to get a new licence across the country. She also paid a visit to the new owners of the Fox and Hounds in Houston. Find out who they are on page 24 Our design features include Paesano and the Bavaria Brauhaus in Glasgow and The Printing Press in Edinburgh.

The Rogano celebrated its 80th birthday last month, and this issue we have 80 facts that perhaps you didn’t know about the Glasgow institution.

Best Bar None Glasgow also celebrated its annual event in November, all the photos are on page 13.

And last but not least we have a feature on Soft Drinks, a real necessity with our drink-driving laws.

All in all, it’s a jam packed month. Here’s hoping you are jam packed too!

Have a Merry Christmas.

Susan Young Editor susan@mediaworldltd.com

@dramscotland

/dram.scotland

CONTENTS December

2015

FEATURES

14 22 24 32

ROGANO AT 80

80 years and 80 facts celebrating Rogano’s birthday.

LICENSING DELAYS

Annabelle Love takes a look at the length of time it takes to get a license.

LICENSEE INTERVIEW

The Fox & Hounds in Houston, new owners has Annabelle Love investigates.

DESIGN FOCUS

The Printing Press in Edinburgh, Paesano Pizza and Bavarian Brauhaus in Glasgow.

REGULARS

04 10 43

NEWS

All the news on pubs, bars, restaurants and hotels.

BRAND NEWS

All the latest brand news.

SUE SAYS

Straight talking from our very own Editor.

DRAM DECEMBER 2015 3

Micro Pub opens in Kelso

S

cotland’s first micro pub, Rutherford’s, has opened in Kelso. The venue, owned by Simon and Debbie Rutherford, housed an old cashmere jumper shop. The couple spent £20K creating the micro venue which does not offer television or music. Instead, customers can find a good conversation starter in the Rutherford’s unique interior. Debbie told DRAM, “We’re having quite a bit of interest in the idea of the micro pub in Scotland, and particular interest from individuals in Glasgow. From February of next year, we are going to be training people who are interested in the micro pub concept. We plan to teach them the best way to go about opening a micro pub outlet, and the most effective method of dispensing ales.”

As well as a good selection of beers Rutherford’s offers local foods, such as pork pies, chutney’s and cheeses served on platters. Rutherford’s is at 38, The Square, Kelso.

1920s vintage-style Casino for Glasgow

Have you heard?

Fred Berkmiller has extended his Edinburgh offering by opening a bar underneath his L’escargot blanc restaurant on Queensferry Street. It’s name is Bar à Vin and he and partner Betty Jourjon are offering a fabulous range of French wines as well as tasty cheeses and a charcuterie too.

Ping Pong offering from Proud Mary

Glasgow now has its own 1920’s style casino and cocktail lounge in the shape of The Cotton Club, which has opened beneath The Corinthian on Ingram Street. It offers vintage-style gaming, drinking and dining in a two-tier, subterranean speakeasy setting.

Operations Manager of the Cotton Club Scott Kinkaid, says, “The Cotton Club brings a brand new casino concept to rival anything offered in the UK, outside of London.”

4 DRAM DECEMBER 2015

A brand new late-night bar and restaurant called Proud Mary, which has Ping Pong as it’s unique selling proposition, is now open in Glasgow’s Queen Street. Proud Mary’s name was inspired by the ‘Let Glasgow Flourish Poem’, and not by the song... and has a retro feel. It’s the brain child of Christopher Murphy, who was formerly part of the St Jude’s team.

The ‘Ping Pong Ballroom’ downstairs is Glasgow’s only Ping Pong bar and houses six private tables, with each table able to host a team of 10.

Musically is aims to showcase Glasgow’s emerging DJs, producers and artists on a weekly basis - from new wave to acid rave, indie, rap, punk, funk and reggae. It also has a late night bistro which offers small, tapas style dishes, and offers cocktails too. It also boasts a beer garden.

R e s t a u r a t e u r R e m o M a r gi o t t a h a s b o u g h t t h e Peacock Inn in Edinburgh. He will re-open it in January as a gastro pub with the moniker The Mucky Fox after an extensive refurbishment.

NEWS

WWW.DRAMSCOTLAND.CO.UK

Mario Gizzi and Tony Conetta have opened their new Atlantic Bar and Brasserie, in the lower ground floor of their Anchorline premises on St Vincent Place in Glasgow. The newest addition to the DRG family, is named after The Atlantic, which was the French restaurant that The Anchor Line Shipping Company created for the 1938 Empire Exhibition in Bellahouston Park. The glamorous bar and brasserie offers French food plus a full rotisserie. See next issue for a full design feature. Meanwhile in December the enterprising duo will also open Tutto Matto in Edinburgh’s Nicolson Street. The new trendy pizza restaurant will offer a range of traditional pizza’s and a variety of pizza’s inspired by different countries, 32 in total. The news comes following the sale of Pinto to Barburrito, the Mexican street- food operation that the two backed with Paul Sloan and Calum MacLachlainn.

JD Wetherspoon put four Scottish pubs up for sale JD Wetherspoon has put four pubs in Scotland up for sale.

They are the Capitol in Dundee, Society Room (pictured) in Glasgow, Clydesdale Inn at Lanark and the Crossed Peels in Stirling. CBRE are handling the sale.

The pubs are just four of thirty four that have been put on the market across the UK. Chairman Tim Martin commented, “Every five to ten years we go through a process of disposing of pubs. This is not a anxiety sale, ahead of the Living Wage being introduced next year.

“It is a periodic review of the portfolio. The pubs we are selling average 20 to 30% less sales than other Wetherspoon pubs.”

Licensed trade property guru David Reid (above) has snapped up his second pub in Aberdeen.

The latest addition to his Doric Pub Company is the Kittybrewster Bar and Ashgrove Lounge in Powis Terrace which has been run

by Andrew and Ann Chapman for the last 30 years. David moved to Aberdeen a few years ago from Bridge of Allan, and bought his first pub the Brig O’ Dee Bar in Holburn Street in 2012.

Tayview re-opens The Tayview Hotel in Dundee has re-opened under the ownership of Mohammed Misbahuddin who bought the hotel recently. It is the retailers first foray into the licensed trade.

n.b. bar & hotel

Reid expands in Aberdeen

Edinburgh has a new beer pub in the shape of the Bier Keller.

The venue, in the basement of Frankenstein’s on George IV Bridge, will open until 1am on weekdays and 3am at the weekends. As well as presenting DJ’s the new bar will feature an Oompah band. There are VIP areas, booths and alcoves available for hire, with seating at traditional long wooden tables for up to 160. Lovers of German beer will be able to enjoy three different draught beers served in Steins and an extensive range of bottled beers; also on offer cocktails, schnapps and culinary favourites’ including bratwurst, schnitzel and apple strudel.

Ian Norman, former Ontrade sales director at Whyte & Mackay has moved to Halewood International as Sales Director – On trade.

Newly-appointed general manager of Macdonald Pittodrie House Hotel, Pim Wolfs, has been selected for a prestigious Master Innholder Scholarship. He is one of only 19 successful candidates for 2016 with the opportunity to attend a personal development training programme at the highlyaccredited Cranfield School of Management in Bedfordshire.

After successful completion, Master Innholder Scholars are known as St. Julien Scholars and form a select group of standard bearers, developing and upholding best practice within the hospitality industry.

DRAM DECEMBER 2015 5

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NEWS H

COVER STORY

Clooney checks out Edinburgh

ollywood A-lister George Clooney joined recently licensed trade A-lister David Wither at his Tigerlily venue in Edinburgh’s George Street for a bite of lunch along with some of the most influential men and women in Scotland – including Sir Tom Hunter and Jim McColl. He was visiting the city to show his support for the charity Social Bite.

As well as lunching at Tigerlily he stayed at Edinburgh’s newly refurbished George Hotel. His stay coincided with an announcement by the hotel that it was to engage in a year-long campaign to raise funds for the social venture charity, Social Bite, that supports the homeless community throughout Scotland.

Oscar-winner George Clooney took time out from his hectic schedule to leave a message in the hotel’s guestbook to commemorate the start of the new initiative. The actor and director, who was the first person to stay in one of the hotel’s luxurious new suites, was presented with Scottish gifts as a thank you. Herringbone Harris Tweed dog collars were personalised for his beloved pets Millie, Einstein and Louie, with matching accessories for his wife, Amal and the actor himself.

The George Hotel – along with its four iconic sister hotels: The

Amaris Hospitality, owners of The Carlton in Edinburgh and Glasgow’s City Hotel is to spend £25 million rebranding the hotels to Hilton Worldwide brands. The Carlton in Edinburgh will benefit from a £15m facelift while £10m will be spent on the Glasgow City Hotel and it will re-emerge as a DoubleTree by Hilton.

Amaris Hospitality was created when American private equity group Lone Star merged its operations which included 29 Jurys Inn, 21 hotels from Moorfield operating under Accor’s Mercure and MGallery brands, and 17 Hotel Collection properties as well as three hotels purchased under Hilton Worldwide brands and lastly but not least 19 provincial hotels operating under the Thistle brand.

John Brennan, chief executive of Amaris Hospitality, said, “We’re delighted to have the opportunity to undertake such an exciting programme to restore these two iconic Scottish hotels to their former glory.

Two dog town BrewDog’s latest bar on Glasgow’s Hutcheson Street has a capacity for 195 people and has a very industrial feel.

The whole premises appear to put emphasis on the movement on goods... from the pallet style seating to the railway sleepers upon which the bar sits. The cellar, which is situated behind the bar, is a blue shipping container while the rest of the wood used throughout has obviously been reclaimed. The large open-plan area, also has a caged off-licence and shop, while at the opposite side there is a large eating area.

n.b. business news

Amaris to invest £25m in Scottish hotels

Roxburghe and The Bonham in Edinburgh and Blythswood Square and Grand Central Hotel in Glasgow – will be raising money for the charity over the course of the next year.

Each of the venues’ restaurants – The Printing Press Bar & Kitchen, Restaurant at Blythswood Square, Tempus Restaurant at Grand Central, Restaurant at The Bonham and the George Street Bar & Grill will participate and the group will continue to support Social Bite throughout 2016 with in-kind support at each of the five hotels as well as sponsoring a glittering fundraising ball at The Grand Central Hotel next year.

Laurie Nicol, regional operations director for Scotland for Principal Hayley Hotels, said, “Social Bite is a tremendous organisation that is doing an outstanding amount of good for homeless people across Edinburgh and Glasgow and we’re very proud to support its cause as our charity for 2016.

“To have George Clooney as a guest in our hotel and our new restaurant has been both a privilege and an honour and will only serve to heighten awareness of the amazing work that Josh and his team carry out on a daily basis”.

The Government scheme that has helped slash ferry fares in Scotland has contributed to an increase in the number of visitors to Arran Distillery’s visitor centre. A record 65,000 visited the distillery in the past 12 months. As well as an increase in the number of visitors the distillery company has seen a rise in its turnover of 21% to £5.5m.

Alan Hay is to take up the position of On-trade Sales Director at Wallaces TCB at the beginning of 2016. Alan will fill the position left vacant by the departure of Matt Munro earlier this month.

Alan comes from AG Barr where he has spent the last 8 years as UK Sales Controller, On Trade & Food Service Channel. Prior to that, he was Cold Drinks Controller, Scotland, for Coca-Cola Enterprises.

John Gilligan, former MD of Tennents, has stepped back in to lead the Wallaces TCB on-trade sales team until Alan takes over at the beginning of February.

DRAM DECEMBER 2015 7

BRAND NEWS Vodka

Dunnet Bay Distillery enters the Vodka Category The most northerly distillery in mainland Britain, Dunnet Bay Distillery has introduced Holy Grass Vodka. True to the ethos of the distillery, which has gained industry acclaim for Rock Rose Gin the vodka will be hand-distilled and feature local botanicals. These include Holy Grass once discovered on the banks of nearby Thurso River by Robert Dick, which brings a wonderful and distinct herbaceous flavour to his new vodka.

The vodka is crafted by husband and wife team, Martin and Claire Murray, who have devised a secret and completely unique way to distil the vodka, using Elizabeth, their traditional copper pot still, and Caithness stone. The vodka is also infused with a carefully crafted vapour of Highland apples and apple juice, to complement the Holy Grass.

Martin Murray, Co-Founder of Dunnet Bay Distillery, says, “Our Holy Grass Vodka is a tribute to Robert Dick, a legendary botanist from Tullibody, who lived in Thurso in the 1800s. As with Rock Rose Gin, we wanted to create a spirit that captures and celebrates the heritage of Caithness and its local botanicals. We are excited to be entering the craft vodka sector with such a unique offering.”

CIROC Apple makes an entrance Ciroc, has revealed its new expression, Ciroc Apple.

Its latest offering has a crisp, ripened apple taste, with added vanilla flavours.

Nick Temperley, Head of Diageo Reserve Brands GB, said, “The launch of Cîroc Apple reinforces Cîroc’s credentials as a leader in luxury innovation by responding to current consumer interest in flavoured spirits. We know that 52% of white spirit drinkers choose flavoured variants.”

A new toffee vodka liquid - Tofka, has been launched into the Scottish on-trade by Babco UK. Tofka, the company says, ‘is an eclectic fusion of smooth tasting vodka infused with the mellow tones of toffee’.

To create a bit of a stir on the back-bar the new Tofka, with an ABV of 29.9%, comes with a promotional device that swirls the golden liquid fusion within a Tofka bottle. It’s definitely eye-catching.

The latest addition to the Babco UK portfolio was conceived in Courchevel 1850 in the French Alps and was the best kept secret up until now. Chris Bowen, managing director of Babco UK says, “We see Tofka defining a new category rather than being another player in a crowded one; especially as customers are always looking to experience the next big thing”. Tofka has been launched into a select number of bars in designated cities around the UK - including most recently at Winter Wonderland in the heart of Central London and a major focus on Scotland as the initial priority test landscape which has seen a large number of major listings in bar venues and positive customer engagement.Tofka. Pure theatre in a bottle. “Go shake up a storm!”

Chilli Vodka from Arbikie

Arbikie Highland Estates has now launched Arbikie Chilli Vodka.

Arbikie uses chipotle chillis grown in Scotland by Scotland’s first Chilli farm, Chillilicious.

Arbikie Chilli Vodka captures the ‘earthy smokiness’ of the chipotle giving the vodka an extra dimension than just heat. It is envisaged that the vodka will be perfect in a Bloody Mary or for the more adventurous a Beetroot Bloody Mary. The new vodka has been launched a year after the craft distiller launched its first potato vodka, which was followed by Kirsty’s Gin in the summer.

John Stirling, Operations Director comments, “It’s been a great year for Arbikie. Having launched Scotland’s first potato vodka, gin, whisky in cask and now our new chilli vodka. We’ve been busy to say the least. I’d like to thank everyone who has supported us from consumers to industry. We wouldn’t have got this far without their support for which we are very grateful. We’ve got some exciting plans for the next year and we hope to continue our growth in the UK as well as overseas.”

DRAM DECEMBER 2015 9

BRAND NEWS

ALL THE L ATEST BRAND NEWS

Whisky Latest Ardmore released The Ardmore Single Malt Scotch Whisky has brought out another expression, The Ardmore Port Wood Finish. This release, from distributor Maxxium UK, follows the triumph of The Ardmore Legacy, which is now the distillery’s main expression. This new addition has a ruby gold colour and a distinguishing taste with a hint of sweetness.

Marketing Director of Maxxium UK, Peter Sandstrom, commented, “The Ardmore Port Wood Finish is an excellent whisky made using the same traditional distilling methods for over 100 years. It is a unique and premium expression - with notes of sweet red apple and honey with the subtlest hint of charcoal smoke and a smooth, long, lingering finish culminating in the trademark Ardmore dryness – it is a whisky that offers a taste that sets it apart.” It has a ABV of 46%.

G&M launch ‘Wood Makes the Whisky’ Whisky experts Gordon & MacPhail launched its ‘The Wood Makes the Whisky’ campaign last month. The campaign aims to highlight the company’s belief that wood has a major part to play in the whisky ageing process. Chief Operating Officer, Ewen Macintosh, said, “Here at Gordon & MacPhail we have always been focused on the close relationship between oak and spirit, and have learned from vast experience that wood really does make the whisky. We have selected the special series of whiskies to demonstrate this complex relationship.”

The campaign allows consumers to gain a more detailed knowledge of Gordon and MacPhail’s approach in matching wood to spirit.

Captain Morgan has come up with some great serves for the festive season. The Captains Christmas Punch: 50ml Captain Morgan Spiced, 75ml Pineapple juice, 75ml Orange juice, served in a 12oz Highball ad served with an Orange wedge. It also suggests The Captain’s Spiced Egg Nog: 50ml Captain Morgan Spiced, 1 whole egg, 50ml Milk, 50ml single cream also served in a 12oz Highball with a cinnamon dusting and a stick. Add all the ingredients to a shaker full with cubed ice, shake to mix, chill and dilute, strain into a highball glass full with cubed ice, garnish and serve.

And last but not least The Captain’s Winter Mojito: 50ml Captain Morgan Spiced, 25ml Lime juice, 15ml cinnamon syrup, 75ml ginger ale, 6-8 mint leaves in a 12oz Highball, garnished with Mint sprig and cinnamon dusting.

Slap the mint leaves and place in the bottom of a 12oz highball glass. Add the CMS, lime and cinnamon syrup and fill the glass with crushed ice.

Add the ginger ale and mix through with a bar spoon. Cap the drink with more crushed ice, garnish with a mint sprig and a dusting of cinnamon and serve.

Rum Ron Zacapa reveal limited edition Ron Zacapa has announced the launch of its annual, limited edition, Reserva Limitada 2015.

The new blend has been created using individually chosen reserve rums which have aged between 6 and 24 years by Master Blender, Lorena Vasquez. Similar to all of Ron Zacapa rums, this new blend is made from sugar canes from the Guatemalan lowlands.

Head of Diageo Reserve Brands GB, Nick Temperley, said, “We’re delighted with the launch of Ron Zacapa Reserva Limitada 2015, another truly exceptional blend. The incredible liquid, coupled with the luxurious packaging promotes stand out on shelf in both in both the on and off-trade as well as making a perfect gift.”

New blended malt from The Shetland Distillery Company The Shetland Distillery Company has launched a new blended malt whisky, Shetland Reel Blended Malt Scotch Whisky. It is the second whisky to be produced by the Shetland based company which is located at the former RAF Saxa Vord base in Unst.

It is bottled in Shetland from four Speyside and one Islay cask strength single malts and diluted to 47% ABV with Unst water. The Shetland Distillery Company also produces two gins, Shetland Reel Gin and Ocean Sent.

10 DRAM DECEMBER 2015

THE CAPTAIN IS LEADING THE RUM REVOLUTION GET ON BOARD TODAY TO MAXIMISE WINTER SALES!

THE RUM CATEGORY IS ON FIRE - WORTH £525m1 AND DRIVING THE GROWTH IN SPIRIT SALES CAPTAIN MORGAN IS THE N o.1 RUM BASED SPIRIT BRAND IN THE BRITISH ON-TRADE1

WORTH £111m IN THE ON-TRADE2, CAPTAIN MORGAN ORIGINAL SPICED GOLD, HAS DRIVEN THE GROWTH OF GOLDEN RUM CAPTAIN MORGAN WHITE IS SET TO DO THE SAME FOR THE WHITE RUM CATEGORY, ALREADY REVITALISING SALES

£4M MARKETING3 SUPPORT

The CAPTAIN MORGAN word and associated logos are trade marks. © Captain Morgan Rum Co. 2015.

1. CGA Brand Index MAT Volume date to P05 (16/05/15) 2. CGA MAT value 21.02.15 3. Across total Trademark

BRAND NEWS Beer

Winter guest Ale for Caledonian brewery Caledonian Brewery has unveiled its brand new guest ale, Winterbrau Spiced Ale, just in time for Christmas.

This 4.3% mahogany ale has a spicy and sweet taste, with a hint of chocolate and a rich, malt finish.

Caledonian Beers Manager, Craig Steven, said, “Its added orange peel, ginger and cinnamon make it the perfect beverage to pair with festive foods such as rich meats, thick saucy dishes, roasted vegetables, strudels and – of course - fruit puddings. This winter style is closer to historic brews when herbs and spices were used to brew beer. Ingredients such as ginger, nutmeg and other spices would have been added to offset the malty sweetness of ale, before the widespread introduction of hops.”

Liqueur

Jagermeister goes spicy Mast-Jaegermeister UK has launched Jagermeister Spice as a permanent addition to its UK portfolio. The new launch will be supported by a six-figure marketing campaign. This will include POS, advertising, PR, social media and sampling opportunities.

Jagermeister Spice has been created using the same recipe as the original, including 56 hand-picked herbs, blossoms, roots and fruits put together with vanilla and cinnamon flavours.

This new addition has an ABV of 15%. Marketing Director of Mast-Jaegermeister UK, Nicole Goodwin, said, “The limited edition launch of Jagermeister Spice proved extremely popular with consumers, which is why we’re pleased to introduce it as a permanent offering alongside Jagermeister original.”

12 DRAM DECEMBER 2015

Carling is to sponsor Dave TV channel as part of a 14-month deal. The partnership provides Carling with a spot on television every day in 2016. and represents the lengthiest stand-alone collaboration between a beer brand and Dave television channel ever.

Carling Brand Director at Molson Coors, Jim Shearer, said, “Dave’s focus on screening original and exciting entertainment programmes, combined with its regular viewing audience, closely aligns to our target market and our ambitions for the Carling brand. The sponsorship agreement with Dave will play a key part in our strategy to build a brand that can deliver value to the beer category beyond price and drive long term sustainable growth of the familiar favourite lager category. We hope the continued investment in the health of the Carling brand will result in a stronger category which drives sales for our customers and excites consumers.”

Aperitif

Calendar Girl Campari, the iconic red Italian apéritif has unveiled the final imagery for its iconic 2016 Calendar with Hollywood actress and entrepreneur Kate Hudson as the star last month. The theme for the calendar takes inspiration from a election campaign – showcasing Kate’s powerful and independent nature while also highlighting the dual flavours of Campari.

Fraiser gains listings New whisky liqueur, Fraiser, has been going down a treat with whisky enthusiasts at festivals throughout Scotland. Its also now pushing into the on-trade and has POS materials for customers, tent cards, menu blocks, blackboards, glassware along with its own mixologist who will happily assist in venue staff training. Launched in the summer, and developed by John Smith, known as the “Whisky Man”, the strawberry whisky liqueur is gaining good traction in high-end on-trade establishments including such as Gleneagles, Trump International, Montpelier Group, Oran Mor and Buzzworks to name but a few. Next year it will be followed by a new Fraiser flavour. The Fraiser story say the owners is really about John Smiths desire to take whisky to a wider audience and to promote Scotch Whisky as against other flavoured brands more often bourbon based.

GOING FOR GOLD

Glasgow pubs and bars were the toast of the city at the recent Best Bar None Awards with more than 54 Gold awards presented, marking a new record for the Best Bar None organisers.

2015

More than 80 venues entered the awards with premises including hotels, community pubs, nightclubs and casino’s showcasing their ‘best practice.’

Golds went to venues such including The Cathouse, The Social, The Polo Lounge, The Shed and Hummingbird. Overall Gold Awards were presented to Campus, The Allison Arms, Cafe Source Too, Queen Margaret Union, Yates, Deoch An Dorus and Blythswood Square Hotel.

Murray Thomson of Blythswood Square Hotel was named Premises Manager of the Year while the Crystal Palace was the Most Improved Venue. Silver awards recipients included Molly Malones, the Penny Farthing and the Sir John Moore. Bronze awards winners included Stumps, The Hall and The Scotia Bar. The awards are sponsored by Diageo, Heineken, Molson Coors, Tennents, Chivas Brothers and Maxxium UK.

/Best-Bar-None-Scotland

@bbnscotland

DRAM DECEMBER 2015 13

7 Evanton Drive, Thornliebank Industrial Estate, Glasgow G46 8HL

ROGANO AT 80 80 years and 80 facts celebrating Rogano’s birthday.

1 Graham Lironi wrote the book ‘Rogano’ about Glasgow’s favourite restaurant. It was published in 2009 to coincide with its 75th birthday.

2 Lynnet Leisure has owned Rogano since 2006. Boss James Mortimer sealed the deal after bidding £1m more than he wanted to pay! The asking price was £6m.

3 James Mortimer first came to Rogano as a guest of Tennent’s. He said, “After I bought my first pub they took me to Rogano for a lobster. Now they buy you a burger.”

4 In 1874 The Bodega Spanish wine cellar opened at 11 Royal Exchange Square... this was the original name of the premises.

5 It changed its name to Rogano Spanish wine cellars, when the manager of Bodega, James Henry Roger bought it with a silent business partner Mr Anderson.

The name Rogano comes from combining the first three letters of Roger with the first three letters of another!

6 James Henry Roger was part of the bodyguard to Queen Victoria when she opened the Loch Katrine waterworks.

7 In 1935 Don Grant bought the premises and opened it as a seafood restaurant and wine shop.

8 Rogano is styled in the art deco style of the Queen Mary ocean liner which was built at the John Brown & Co shipyard in Clydebank.

9 The walnut wood panelling in Rogano, some say, was 14 DRAM DECEMBER 2015

originally intended for the Queen Mary. It was allegedly supplied by the foremen of the John Brown shipyard who used it to pay their Rogano bar bills.

10 The beautiful stained glass and the seascape mural in Rogano was designed and painted by Charles Cameron Baillie.

11 John Thomson, who was with Weddell and Inglis, was the architect.

12 The first manager of the Rogano was Swiss.

13 The bright yellow signage is made of Vitrolite.

14 In the late 1940’s owner Don Grant helped establish the Scottish Hotel School in Glasgow.

15 Don Grant was 57 when he died in 1957.

16 Don Grant’s children Donald and Valerie inherited Rogano. Donald was licencee of Rogano until he died in 1982.

17 The ‘best cocktail maker in the world’ at the time was considered to be Rogano bartender ‘Uncle John’ or John Mitchell. His bartending career at Rogano started in 1942 and his most popular cocktail was the dry martini.

18 Rogano originally had a Liquor Bar and a Cocktail Bar. 19 The Rogano telephone number was Central 6637.

Today it is 0141 248 4055.

20 Rogano once closed at 10pm.

Inverarity Morton: proud wine suppliers to Rogano www.InverarityMorton.com 21 Valerie also opened a Danish restaurant in Glasgow called Skandia, and also owned the Lomond Castle Hotel in Loch Lomond.

22 Donald and Valerie ran Rogano until the mid 1980’s, and after her brother’s death Valerie sold the business to a joint venture between Alloa and Ken McCulloch in 1983.

23 Rogano was renovated in 1984 - Ken McCulloch credits John Mackenzie of Alloa with the creation of the Rogano, as we know it. He says, “I could never have transformed Rogano if it had not been for John Mackenzie...”

24 The architect that oversaw the 1984 transformation was John Thomson.

His father was involved in the original Rogano design.

25 The carpets in Rogano were made by the same company that made the Queen Mary’s original carpets. The speckle in them, was part of liner carpet design, due to the fact that people got sea sick on liners.

26 During the 1984 renovation the wrought iron Spanish Sherry Bar and the long oyster and seafood bar were removed.

27 The large oyster shell that sits above Table 16 was donated by Livy Neil, a fishmonger to Rogano.

28 The Rogano re-opened on 26th June 1984.

29 The chef in 1984 was Ferrier Richardson.

30 John Mitchell and Jim Wilson were on the bar in 1984.

31 Gordon Yuill eventually took over the managers job from Hugh MacShannon, having previously been the bar manager at Rogano... He became ‘Mr Rogano’.

32 Cafe Rogano opened downstairs in 1986.

33 In 1985 Ken McCulloch was bought out of the joint venture by Alloa Brewery. Gordon Yuill continued in the role of Manager working for Alloa.

@InvMorton

/inveraritymorton

34 In 2005 Rogano was given a spruce up with a “sympathetic” refurbishment.

35 Over the course of 20 years, ownership of Rogano changed in line with the sale of its parent company. Latterly it was owned by the Spirit Group who put it up for sale in 2006.

36 It was sold to James Mortimer after a sale price of £6m was sought in 2006.

37 Rogano’s administrative legend was Miss Gilly. At times, over her 25-year tenure, her husband Jim, and son Simon, both worked at the restaurant.

38 GM Ann Patterson has worked at Rogano since 1986, with a brief stint at The Buttery.

39 Chef Andy Cumming has also been involved with Rogano since 1987.

40 Rogano is renowned for its legendary fish soup.

41 Around 20 chefs work in Rogano.

42 Rogano has a ghost! The story goes that the son of the Rogano founder James Henry Roger hanged himself in one of the cloakrooms.

43 Rogano sells 260 kilos of mussels a week.

44 In a year Rogano customers get through 100,000 oysters.

45 One of the best selling dishes is Lobster Thermidor.

46 It’s other two signature dishes are Langoustines & lemon sole.

47 Guests in the 1940’s and 50’s included Danny Kaye, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra and Margaret Lockwood.

48 Elizabeth Taylor decided not to sign the Rogano visitor book because she had been hassled by the press for a photograph.

49 Rogano has seen the likes of Irvin Berlin, Liberace, George Melly, Spike Milligan,Joan Collins, Billy Connolly, Jude Law, Des O’Connor, Dr Henry Kissinger, Mick Jagger, Tina Turner, Madonna, Ewan McGregor, Bob Dylan and Kylie (to name a very few) through its doors.

DRAM DECEMBER 2015 15

www.InverarityMorton.com

50 It’s a favourite haunt of the football fraternity - from Sir Alex Ferguson to Walter Smith, and Gordon Strachan.

51 Rogano staff call the semi circular table by the pillar the ironing board.

52 Poet W.H. Auden has written a poem about Rogano called ‘The Mermaids of the Oyster Bar’.

53 The DRAM’s own Cheryl Cook once worked at Rogano.

54 Table No 16 is the celebrity table.

E. sales@InverarityMorton.com

68 The bar in Rogano is known as The Oyster Bar. 69 Originally Paisley publican Norman Link had expressed plans to buy the Rogano from Valerie Wilson in 1983, but this deal fell through. Michael Modlin, whose family owned The Warehouse, also put an offer in 1983, but was pipped to the post by Ind Coope (Alloa).

70 During the 1940’s most of Glasgow’s seafood was delivered to Rogano from the railway station. The other hotels and restaurants in the city that sold seafood would despatch their boys to Rogano’s to pick it up.

55 In 1976 the price of the Christmas Eve lunch was £5.50.

71 During the war people queued round the block to get into the bar.

56 Rogano’s outside area opened in 2004.

72 Ron McCulloch met his future wife, Amanda Rosa, at Rogano. She came into see him to show him her designs for the Rogano’s carpets.

57 It’s house champagne today is Joseph Perrier Champagne and it sells more than 7,000 bottles every year.

58 Mick Jagger ordered rocket salad when he dined there in the mid-70’s.

59 Rod Stewart says going to Rogano is like “coming home”.

60 Rogano serves 2250 people every week.

61 Rogano is the oldest surviving restaurant in Glasgow.

62 It’s best selling cocktail is the French Martini.

63 The original font is used in today’s menus.

73 The original art deco ventilation grills are still intact.

74 Rogano’s exterior and interior are now listed.

75 Apparently when Rogano was still owned by a pub company there were talks about changing its name to the Fox & Ferret.

76 Bill Martin, on of the UK’s most acclaimed songwriters – responsible for hits such as Puppet on a String, Congratulations, Shang a Lang, The Bump, Forever and Forever, among others, spoke at the 80th birthday, while Edward Reid sang a song.

64 The carpet is rewoven every few years, but in the same design.

77 Owner James Mortimer is significantly younger than his oldest restaurant.

65 Today there are 65 staff.

78 Keira Knightley went to Rogano every night for a fortnight when she was filming in Glasgow. She had the same dish every night - smoked salmon and scrambled eggs.

66 550 people attended its 80th birthday celebrations on November 15th 2015 67 During the war Rogano was a favourite hang-out for army and navy officers. Apparently staff used to give them a label, from a fish box, with their name and hotel written on, in case they got too inebriated to remember where they were staying.

16 DRAM DECEMBER 2015

79 Chef Andy Cumming has personally opened more than half a million oysters – and he has two a day for breakfast.

80 Inverarity Morton are the wine supplier to Rogano and the rest of James Mortimer’s estate.

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REVIEW REVIEW OF TH OF THE YEAR LAST YEAR SCOTLAND BENEFITTED FROM THE COMMONWEALTH GAMES AND THE RYDER CUP, AND THERE WAS A LOT OF BUZZ AROUND THE REFERENDUM. HOW DID 2015 COMPARE. SUSAN YOUNG ROUNDS UP 2015, WITH HER TAKE ON THE STAND OUT MOMENTS, AND THE PEOPLE WHO IMPRESSED HER.

George Clooney

Stand out moments Last year it definitely was The Commonwealth Games and The Ryder Cup and the morning of the referendum result, this year the stand out day was George Clooney in Edinburgh. He visited Social Bite, lunched at Tigerlily and stayed at The George, and the pictures were beamed throughout the world. It was a great piece of positive PR for Scotland.

The biggest impact on the trade The new drink-driving limit was introduced last December, and over the last 12 months it’s introduction has done more to drive people into their homes to drink, than any other legislation to date. But it is here to stay, and this coming year, now that it is bedded in, licensees will be able to to get a better indication of how the trade is likely to perform over the next few years by comparing year on year figures.

The Printing Press

Copper Blossom

Wow Factor There has been no let down in the advancement of the licensed trade in the shape of new openings and refurbishments over the last year. In November alone Buzzworks opened The Mill House in Stewarton; Raymond Codono – The Bavaria Brauhaus; Mario Gizzi and Tony Conetta – The Atlantic; Starwood opened The Printing Press and Glendola, Frankenstein’s Beir Keller. Other notable new bars have been OX184 from FullerThomson; The Jolly Botanist – Iain Pert and Gordon Gilhooley; The Beer Kitchen – Innis & Gunn; The Doghouse from BrewDog; Caffe Parma – Stefano Giovanazzi; West on the Corner – West Brewery; Copper Blossom – Speratus Group; The Trading House – New World Trading Company... and on and on. Wow factor would be a toss up between up between Tigerlily and The Atlantic... although the others look great too. The amount spent above would be conservative £5m... which has a knock-on effect on jobs throughout Scotland from shopfitters, to joiners, designers to upholsterers.

Company News

Tigerlily 18 DRAM DECEMBER 2015

Tennent’s owners C&C were in the news last year for buying Wallaces, this year they have been in the news again most notably because most of the Wallaces team have now left – from Brian Calder (right) to Chris Cosh and Matt Munro. New MD Alastair Campbell comes from the travel business, but his travelling these days is out to see the movers and the shakers in the licensed trade.

HE YEAR 2015 Whisky There wasn’t a stand out launch for me in 2015 but I have to say I get more information from whisky companies with regard to their brands than any other sector of the drinks industry, including beer. Whisky brands are being innovative, are constantly evolving and are working flat out to encourage consumers. I would still like to see more being done to encourage newcomers to the category, there’s a lot done to encourage existing drinkers to keep on drinking... to me we are missing a trick when it come blends. We published our Guide to Scotland’s Best Whisky Bars a few months ago, and they have gone like hotcakes, we even put them into some hotels with the concierge’s grabbing them with both hands. They told us that people are always asking where to go and drink whisky. Now they know.

Biggest pay packet Billy Lowe

This might appear next month too when I do my New Year gongs... Billy Lowe of Saltire Taverns again successfully sold out to Glendola. The company bought his Frankenstein venues in Glasgow and Edinburgh a few years ago, and in 2015 it did a deal to buy Le Monde and Angel’s Share. Despite the fact that he is enjoying time on the golf course (trying to improve his handicap!)

He is a real success story. They say a business is only worth what someone is prepared to pay, but many licensees hang on to their estates for too long. The real expertise is knowing when to sell and certainly Billy has that down to a fine art.

Beer – in all its glory First of all it was craft beer, then it was bars and pubs that served craft beer and now along comes beer pubs. Two opened this month in Glasgow and one in Edinburgh – the thirst for beer is showing no signs of being quenched. The latest Beer Barometer figures from the British Beer & Pub Association show that UK beer sales rebounded strongly in quarter three, with a 3.9% improvement on the same quarter in 2014.

Interviewee Stewart Spence

Angela Vickers

I thoroughly enjoyed meeting and talking with Jeff Stewart (right) at the Broughty Ferry Hotel. He was a real character, one of a kind. As was Stewart Spence of The Marcliffe in Aberdeen. Another interviewee who I also enjoyed spending time with was Angela Vickers the Chief Executive of Apex Hotels. I enjoy meeting people and there is not a person that I’ve interviewed this year, that I haven’t learned from. As I said to one of my colleagues recently, there is nothing more motivating than talking to people who are passionate about what they do.

DRAM DECEMBER 2015 19

Help your customers drive home safely with

Designated Driver

To help keep your customers safe on the road this Christmas, our Designated Driver scheme is back from 1st December.

The Designated Driver campaign rewards consumers for choosing not to drink alcohol by receiving a free second soft drink when they purchase a Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Life, Coca-Cola Zero, Diet Coke or – new for 2015 – the newly launched Schweppes Sparkling Juice Drinks, and Appletiser.

To order your activation kit just call 01733 828 000 and share a little happiness with your customers this Christmas.

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©2015 The Coca-Cola Company. All Rights Reserved. Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Zero, Coca-Cola Life, Diet Coke, the Lippincott Ribbon, the Coca-Cola Christmas Truck, the Coca-Cola disc and the Contour Bottle are registered trademarks of The Coca-Cola Company.

Whisky in a jar Christmas is the perfect time to experiment with premium spirits, generating new and creative flavours that will linger!

Dennis Forsyth of Cheers Cafe Bar & Tavern in Fraserburgh, is big on selling his Christmas cocktails in jam jars.

He told DRAM, “The selling point is the jar. Pubs should look into glassware more often, the glassware sells the product a lot better.”

The festive cocktails will be created with various top spirits in mind, including Smirnoff vodka, gin and whisky.

Dennis said he’ll be drinking “Old Raj Gin, mixed with a good premium tonic, or on its own.” As for customers... Dennis said, “The toffee apple sourz has proven very popular with customers.”

Nearly 40 million potential customers...

Pernod Ricard UK is encouraging on-trade retailers to get social this Christmas in order to Atur inspire moluptatin parum their customers volupitati conestinus aut and drive sales of premium abor re el maxim dolorro wine and spirits, with research vitatur sithat rerorit suggesting more emolesc than one iniderorum four consumers (28%) will be il eosaectoriam keenhictia to engage with accum outlets on solupiet social media toquis find about the earitatur, rem ut latest seasonal drinks and serves.

Premium spirits are growing at +16.7% in value sales, which is well ahead of mainstream, therefore Christmas is the perfect time to get your customers to trade up.

According to William Grant & Sons market report this year, 61% of spirits growth has resulted from the sale of premium spirits.

61%

Festive Facts

According to recent statistics approximately 37.8m consumers visit the on-trade during the month of December, with an extra 569 serves in each establishment in comparison to every other month.

extra 569 serves

The festive season guarantees a great surge in eating and alcohol consumption. Apparently Britons consume 41% more alcohol over the festive period than the annual monthly average, and eat up to 7,000 calories on Christmas day alone.

+16.7%

New Hangover Cure There’s a new hangover cure which licensees can sell at the end of the night.

Called Overhang, this new product say the owners has been inspired by a secret Italian family recipe which is designed to refresh and revitalise customers at the end of the night!

Overhang includes orange, ginger, lime and milk thistle with added vitamins and botanicals. Dennis Forsyth of Cheers Cafe Bar & Tavern told DRAM, “I think it’s going to be the next big thing.”

Celebratory Champagne Classic champagne cocktail’s come into their own at Christmas.

Just mix a white sugar cube with bitters and cognac, and fill the rest of the glass with champagne!

FACT Champagne and spirits like Tequila have more in common than you might think. Both drinks can only be produced in a specific region of Mexico and France. Tequila, like Champagne, is also one of the most controlled drinks in the world, monitored by the Tequila Regulatory Council, The Mexican Government and the National Chamber of Tequila Producers.

In Great Britain, there are approximately 12.1m Champagne drinkers, with most of these consumers being female. The UK on-trade champagne market is worth £405m.

12.1 million

DRAM DECEMBER 2015 21

LICENSING DELAYS

BY ANNABELLE LOVE THE LENGTH OF TIME THAT SOME LICENSING BOARDS ARE TAKING TO ISSUE LICENCES IS PROVING CONCERNING. WHY DOES IT TAKE GLASGOW 16-24 WEEKS TO ISSUE THEM, BUT EDINBURGH ONLY 6 WEEKS? ANNABELLE LOVE INVESTIGATES.

L

aunching a new bar, club or restaurant in the current we’re not going to bother doing that, we’ll look at some other economic climate is a challenging and stressful business, part of the country’. It’s impossible to put a figure on that, with plenty of pitfalls to avoid along the way. all I could say is that, yes, there have been instances where From problems with refits, suppliers and dealing with old, investors have decided not to proceed because of the length sometimes rundown or listed buildings to securing financial of time that they know the process takes. If a development backing it can be a tricky process – even for those with years doesn’t take place then clearly the jobs it might have created of experience in the trade. don’t materialise.”

One of the main areas that can be a So what is the picture on the ground? source of pressure concerns issues In Edinburgh, for example, which has AVERAGE LENGTH OF TIME around licensing – particularly the 2,104 licensed premises, a total FOR NEW LICENSE length of time it currently takes to get of 95 applications for premises a new premises licence or a variation licenses were received in 2014/15 EDINBURGH 8 WEEKS – processed. Anecdotally, some and all but one was processed and feel that these delays may result in granted.

GLASGOW 16-24 WEEKS certain areas potentially missing out The Licensing Board meets once a on lucrative development deals – and month and the council says that both SOUTH LANARKSHIRE 6 WEEKS the jobs that go with them – when new premises licence applications investors vote with their feet and and non-minor variations are heard NORTH AYRSHIRE 8 WEEKS choose places where applications are within about eight weeks of the date processed more speedily. that they are lodged.

Gone are the days, under the old But the situation is quite different system, when it took just five weeks in Scotland’s biggest city. While and a day to get an application Glasgow has slightly fewer licensed through and most businesses face premises, at 1,853, it also has a anything from two to three months – higher number of total licensing and in some cases very much longer applications to process than – before they get the green light. anywhere else in the country.

Licensing specialist Archie Maciver, Last year the Board received of Brunton Miller Solicitors, says, applications for 71 premises “Under the new system you are licences and 138 applications for finding that, in certain board areas – major variations. The Board says it and I would stress certain but not all, can’t say exactly how long waiting transfer applications are taking eight times are but aims to deal with weeks and more. most applications for new premises “With an application for a new licence, licences and variations within four to you are doing very well in some areas six months. It says 88 % of licences if that’s dealt with within five months are processed within that time – but again, in fairness, there are other meaning that over a fifth, are not. boards which are speedier than that.

In the case of variations, only 66 % “There are some boards where of these are processed within the variation applications are taking well in excess of nine months target time. and that clearly is just unacceptable.

A spokesman for Glasgow Licensing Board admits that there “I would certainly say that most applications should be capable has been a problem – but says that steps have been taken to of being dealt with within eight to nine weeks for new licences improve the situation, including increasing the number of staff. and variations. Transfers under the new system, four to five He said, “Overall 88% of all applications are processed within weeks should be readily achievable.” our target times, although we accept there has been a build-up He adds, “If you’re dealing with the boards where applications of cases in certain areas. are taking considerably longer than others to be processed, “The unexpected impact of the introduction of our policy on then you can have a situation where a prospective investor Sunday 11am opening, which drew forward a large volume of in the area, once they know of those timescales, will say, ‘No, more complex applications, has undoubtedly had an impact.

22 DRAM DECEMBER 2015

CAUSE CONCERN ARCHIE MACIVER, “We have reviewed our processes, made appropriate hover around the £200 mark, although in East Ayrshire it is adjustments to how applications are handled and we believe just £125, while in Edinburgh the fee is £130, and in Glasgow this will improve the flow of applications through the system. it is £165.

“The number of staff trained in handling liquor licensing But in South Lanarkshire, the fees for a variation are set at applications has also more than doubled in recent years and two thirds of the cost of a premises licence application fee, this will help us address any build-up of applications. which is based on Rateable Value – so there it could set you “Glasgow Licensing Board meets at least once a month and back by up to £1,333. always deals with a very full agenda of cases, which is unlike A spokesman for South Lanarkshire Council said, “The process many other licensing authorities.” for dealing with a major variation application is the same as Away from Scotland’s biggest cities, license applications still an application for a premises licence and this is reflected in commonly take two to three months to process. The average the fee.” current waiting time for premises and variation applications Obviously Boards need to balance their books – but it could be to be processed in South Lanarkshire, for example, which argued that a standard fee, or one that is calculated in the same has 716 licensed premises, is ten weeks and in the Scottish way everywhere, would make for a more level playing field.

Borders applications for both premises licences and variations Mr Maciver says, “I know that, within Board circles, they quite are heard within two to three months. properly take the view that to charge only £10 for an occasional But in South Ayrshire, which has licence application doesn’t go 423 licensed premises, applications anywhere near covering the cost of I THINK IT’S IMPORTANT for both premises licences and processing that application. variations go to the next available “On the other side of the coin there TO GET ACROSS THAT THE Board, usually a minimum of six are some boards that charge PROBLEM IS NOT WITH THE weeks after they have been lodged. through the nose for variation PEOPLE WHO ARE WORKING And in North Ayrshire, which has applications.

FOR THE BOARDS. THEY 400 licensed premises, the council “They have got to try and balance says applications for new premises their books somehow. The issue ARE, TO A MAN AND licences and non-minor variations really has to be addressed nationally WOMAN, USUALLY VERY are usually determined within to try and get an overall solution to DILIGENT AND DOING two months of being lodged. But it.”

THEIR LEVEL BEST – QUITE many others – including transfers, But is further legislation the way minor variations, extended hours, forward?

SIMPLY THERE ARE NOT occasional and personal licences – Another practitioner says that she ENOUGH OF THEM. are granted within a week. feels the system is already overMr Maciver believes that the main complicated.

ARCHIE MACIVER, problem is the lack of personnel She says, “Changes to licensing BRUNTON MILLER SOLICITORS dealing with licence applications, laws, with at least five different rather than failures on the part of pieces of legislation introduced in the personnel who are there. less than ten years, have made the He says, “I think it’s important to get across that the problem system so complex that the ‘average Joe’ would struggle to is not with the people who are working for the Boards. They understand what they need to do in order to keep themselves are, to a man and woman, usually very diligent and doing their right.” level best – quite simply there are not enough of them. The Mr Maciver agrees. He says, “There has been so much number of people involved in licensing in most board areas has legislative change recently, or at least certainly since the 2005 been radically reduced over the past few years. The system is Act, that it’s impossible for licensed traders to keep up with all much more bureaucratic, there is an increase in the paperwork the changes so we are never keen on seeing any more change. and a reduction in the personnel to process it so you’ve got an “Notwithstanding that, I do think the question of fees has to equation that’s pulling in opposite directions. be looked at to create a fairer system and secondly, I think we “Really there has to be an improvement in the number of folk desperately need to have a consolidated piece of legislation who are employed to make the system work.” where we look at all the different pieces of the licensing A second area of concern for many in the licensed trade is the legislation that are brought under one heading because at the lack of consistency between different Licensing Boards – from moment you’ve got jump all over the place to try and find the the differences in forms that applicants have to fill out to the answers that you are looking for.” lack of parity in fees set by Boards themselves – especially It seems that less change, but rather more consolidation is the those for variations. way forward when it comes to shaping the licensing process Most, including South Ayrshire and the Scottish Borders, into one that is faster, fairer and less confusing for everyone.

DRAM DECEMBER 2015 23

MAKING NEW MEMORIE ANNABELLE LOVE MEETS GRAEME AND KAREN FINNIE THE NEW OWNERS OF THE FOX & HOUNDS IN HOUSTON.

24 DRAM DECEMBER 2015

ES

LICENSEE INTERVIEW

W

hen Graeme Finnie and his wife, Karen, put in a sealed bid for the rundown Fox & Hounds pub in their local village of Houston, Renfrewshire, last March, it is fair to say they were not confident of success. They had already had an earlier deal declined by the administrators and thought someone else would probably get it.

In fact, Graeme actually forgot all about their bid and only discovered that they were the new proprietors when he phoned the agent 48 hours later.

The former coaching inn, which dates back to 1779, had been owned by the Wengel family for almost 40 years before it was sold in 2012. It had long enjoyed an enviable reputation for food and drink and was popular with locals and even the odd high profile footballer. But when it went into administration in November 2014 and then lost its licence, residents feared it might not reopen again.

Karen says, “We thought it might have been a good investment opportunity but after the administrators said no we kind of wrote it off. We thought there would be people with deeper pockets than us and decided not to bother. But then in March the administrators phoned Graeme up on the Thursday and said the closing date was on the following Tuesday and were we still interested. He said no – and he was so not interested he didn’t even tell me until the Friday night and I spent the weekend talking him into it.”

Graeme add, “So we put the offer in on the Tuesday and completely forgot about it and I phoned them up on the Thursday and said, ‘Just out of curiosity, what happened? Who got it?’ and the guy said, ‘I was just about to phone you and tell you, you’ve got it,’ – which came as a bit of a surprise.”

The couple, who have lived in the village for more than 30 years, met as pupils at Houston Primary School – although they only got together in their teens – and both have many happy memories of nights spent in The Fox. They were desperate to restore it to its former glory and the pair, who have three children, quickly set in motion ambitious plans to do that. However, there was one thing they were certain of from the outset – they owned The Fox and they would hold the licence – but they lacked the experience to run the business themselves.

Graeme, who is a managing partner and head of corporate advisory at French Duncan, says, “I run an accountancy practice, Karen is a pharmacist and we weren’t stupid enough to believe we could actually run a pub.

“We think Jason Andrews has done a great job with the nearby The River Inn so, quite literally, I walked in one Friday night on my way home. Jason wasn’t there so I left my business card, he phoned me on the Monday morning and we had two meetings and really by the Thursday we’d agreed a deal. Much as we’ve done the refurbishment ourselves, Jason has been heavily involved in the layout and his advice has been absolutely brilliant. We’ve got a great relationship with him. Come December, Jason will become the tenant of the property and it’s his baby and we’re not trying to take any of the credit for it after that. We own the property and we hold the licence, but Jason leases the pub from us and it’s his business. He will run it and I’m sure he will do

DRAM DECEMBER 2015 25

MAKING NEW MEMORIES LICENSEE INTERVIEW

a phenomenal job.”

Karen admits that The Fox has been pretty much all- consuming for the last six months since the sale was finalised in June. In August she applied to get the licence back and they originally planned to get contractors in by September – but unfortunately they discovered asbestos and had to get a specialist contractor in to deal with it before anything else could happen.

She says, “We didn’t know if we would get the licence back and that was a worry so we had to have a plan B. We had the potential to look at turning it into flats but we’d have had to walk around Houston with flak jackets on for the next 20 years if we’d done that and our preference was always to open it back up as a pub. Right at the very start we had two public meetings in the village to discuss peoples’ concerns and when we actually went to the licensing board one of the councillors said that it was a tribute to the strength of feeling for the pub, and what people locally think of our plans, because there were no objections. We really appreciate the fact that people are giving us the chance to go for it and we can’t wait for them to see what we have done.”

The major renovation includes some significant changes. The Houston Brewing Company has moved out to a new site in Hillington and is totally unconnected to The Fox. The space it occupied is now a gleaming, state of the art kitchen. The first floor has been opened up to create the Hunters Bar – complete with pool table and aimed at a younger crowd – while the restaurant has moved downstairs to what used to be the Stable Bar. Loch Fyne seafood supplied by Graeme’s brother-in-law, Cameron Brown, who is managing director at the firm and also lives in Houston, as well as tasty Wagyu beef will be on the menu.

Walking around the pub, which still looked like a building site a few weeks ago, it is clear just how much work has been done.

Graeme says, “There was a broken pipe under the lounge bar and we had to get a big industrial vacuum to come and suck out all the water waste, which had been making an unpleasant smell. We’ve had to refurbish the windows and parts of the roof were leaking too. It’s an old building and everybody tells you there’ll be things that come out of the woodwork and then there were things we hadn’t budgeted for but decided to do like replacing the old bar top with sycamore, which will match the new table tops in the lounge bar.”

26 DRAM DECEMBER 2015

The main contract was with VQ Construction, based in Hillington, and the couple have also used local contractors whenever they could, including C Hunter Heating Services Ltd for the plumbing work and electrician Jock Adams. Tennent Caledonian were also helpful and supportive, supplying pipes and equipment.

But Graeme and Karen, who spent just shy of £500,000 on the refurbishment, have made every effort to preserve the original feel of the pub. The lounge bar has been re-decorated in red and gold, as it was, and the same seats are still there – just freshly re-upholstered. Even some of the old pictures are back on the walls.

Karen says “It’s been modernised but I wanted the same feeling here that I’ve always had - the feel of an old English pub in Scotland.”

She admits she has thought about little else other than The Fox for the last six months. She says “I wake up at 6am thinking about it. We always wanted to do something together and it could have gone either way but we split it. Graeme did all financial aspects of it – lawyers, bankers – and I’ve done everything else.”

Graeme is optimistic about his first foray into the licence trade – although he admits that recent changes to the drink driving laws – reducing the legal limit further – were a concern. He says “I’ve always done corporate finance and my job is to advise people on buying and selling but I’m also quite entrepreneurial and I like a challenge. The change to the drink driving laws was a concern for us. When you look at the figures I think it’s definitely had a negative impact on the trade and I’m not blind to that but I think The Fox is a fairly unique circumstance and I think it will be a sound investment for us in the long term. I’ve had phone calls from clients, bankers, everybody even down to my daughter’s teacher at parents’ night, asking about the pub. The Fox is very well known and I will be using it in a business context, definitely.”

Karen says, “It’s been very much a new challenge for me but there’s never been a point when I wished I hadn’t done it. Even when we were at University, Christmas Eve was always at the Fox & Hounds. You’d sit and have your drinks and then walk along to Church for the midnight service. You couldn’t get into the pub past about seven o’clock because it was so busy.

Hopefully it will be like that again.”

That’s something we can all drink to.

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Proud to supply The Fox & Hounds At Loch Fyne we are passionate about delivering only the finest ethically sourced and sustainable produce; from exquisite salmon, smoked on the premises at our home in Cairndow, Argyll to oysters grown naturally on the shore at the head of Loch Fyne.

Visit our website to find out more: www.lochfyne.com

Loch Fyne Oysters Ltd, Cairndow, Argyll, PA26 8BL E: info@lochfyne.com T: 01499 600 264 DRAM DECEMBER 2015 27

Available widely through Wholesalers today For more information call 0845 7581781 Lipton Ice Tea is a soft drink with tea extract and fruit juice Lipton and the Lipton mark are registered trademarks of BRV318343_15

and are used under licence

Stock up now A REFRESHING BLEND WI TH PEACH JUICE AND ICE TE A

IT’S EXACTLY A YEAR SINCE THE NEWER DRINK-DRIVING LEVEL WAS INTRODUCED IN SCOTLAND, AND SOFT DRINKS HAVE PROBABLY NEVER BEEN SO IMPORTANT TO THE ON-TRADE. HERE ARE A FEW FACTS ABOUT THE SOFT DRINK CATEGORIES AND SOME BRANDS WORTH CONSIDERING TO TEMPT YOUR CUSTOMERS THIS FESTIVE SEASON.

h t 0 5

Did you know that Appletiser celebrated its 50th birthday in 2015. It was created in 1965 by Edmond Lombardi in South Africa, and today is sold all around the world, including in the UK, Japan, Australia, amongst many others.

Staying true to its roots, the drink is still produced in the Western Cape apple orchards of the Elgin Valley, situated in the beautiful Fynbos Floral Kingdom.

However....

40%

of consumers agree the choice of soft drinks available when eating and drinking out is too narrow. More than 60% of soft drink consumers we interviewed agree that they would like to see a better range of soft drinks exclusively targeted at adults, and the same number would like to see more healthy soft drinks on offer.”

£4.2bn

According to the recent Britvic soft drink market report on the value of sales of soft drinks increased by 3.6% to £4.2bn and by 0.5% in volume, with the on-trade accounting for more than half of these sales.

You've been able to enjoy Iced Tea from Lipton in convenience stores but now you will also be able to offer it as a no-alcohol alternative to your customers as it has launched in the on-trade too. The brands core audience are 18-34 year olds, and it has an eyecatching new jam jar serve, which increases its relevance in bars.

The on-trade launch has also been backed by a consumer campaign. Said a spokesman for Lipton Ice Tea, “By driving awareness and excitement around the new-look and extended range we are confident the campaign will result in greater sales for retailers and operators alike.”

One of the newest soft drinks on the block is J2O Midnight Amber, a limited edition exclusively for the on trade. This limited edition captures the spirit of the winter season with a magical burst of orange, lemon and mandarin fruit juices, blended with a winter spice flavour. Owners Brivtic put £2m behind the brand, and a burst of advertising in the run up to Christmas should encourage consumers to ask for it at the bar. Kevin McNair, GB Marketing Director, Britvic Soft Drinks, commented, “As the UK’s largest juice drink brand, holding a 61% value market share of the on-trade soft drinks category, we’re confident that J2O’s fantasy-world-inspired Midnight Amber blend will capture the spirit of the season and help drive adult soft drinks sales.

J2O Midnight Amber can be enjoyed either on its own as a sophisticated adult soft drink or as part of a range of delicious mocktails and cocktails.

For all the diversity of product development in the take-home category, carbonated drinks are still the most commonly consumed type out of home, with premium bottled drinks, such as elderflower pressé, consumed by only 12% of on-trade soft drink users, compared with one in three who drink bottled water.” Peach Report 30 DRAM DECEMBER 2015

£21m

Did you know that AG Barr, Irn Bru's owners, also owns cocktail mixer business Funkin. The company bought the soft drink brand in February 2015 in a deal worth £21m.

Funkin’s products – which include mixers for Pina Colada and Strawberry Daiquiri as well as the Espresso Martini – are made using only natural ingredients. Speaking about the acquisition Roger White, chief executive of AG Barr, said, “We are delighted that Funkin will become part of A.G. BARR. We believe that Funkin has created a unique niche in a growing market and together we can drive exciting growth in a new sub category. We have a proven track record of acquiring and developing high growth brands such as Rubicon.

Under our ownership we believe Funkin is even more strongly positioned to take advantage of a number of exciting growth opportunities."

Who's drinking what?

CGA Brand Index total on premise June 2015

In bars, pubs and restaurants (% who typically drink these when out)

Soft Coffee Wine drinks 48% 48% 51%

Lager 34%

Tea 30%

Cider 25%

Ale Cocktails Vodka 21% 18% 18%

The soft drinks category has more on-trade consumers than any other.

Some 51% of on-trade drinkers consume them in bars, pubs or restaurants, at some time or other, even if motivations for ordering them when out commonly focus on the interrelated issues of being the driver and the avoidance of alcohol, either in the daytime, or altogether.” Peach Report

Another quirky brand which is now prevalent in the on-trade, particularly in bar and restaurants that favour premium brands is Fentimans. It's quirky range of bottled mixers includes Light Tonic Water, which they say is the world's first botanically brewed light tonic water. The range also includes Ginger Beer and Ginger Ale. The business is still in the Fentimans family and is owned by the Great Grandson of Thomas Fentiman who took on the recipe in 1905, the company still makes its beverages by the time honoured method of botanically brewing the finest natural ingredients. Its production processes have been updated through the addition of mild carbonation to replace the carbon dioxide lost during pasteurisation, which gives the product a longer life.”

Craft beer 15%

Other Whisky hot 11% drinks 12%

Gin 11%

Rum 10%

Stout Liqueurs Alcopops Energy Brandy Tequila 8% 7% 6% drinks cognac 4% 6% 5%

New soft drink mixer Qcumber hit the on-trade in August, and since then it has been undergoing an extensive sampling campaign to build awareness and gain trial. Created from natural cucumber essence and spring water, all Qcumber products are made from 100% natural ingredients and are free from artificial sweeteners, colours, preservatives and flavourings. Available in 200ml crown-cap bottles, Qcumber Premium Mixer is positioned as an ideal accompaniment to gin or vodka.

Graham Carr-Smith, creator of the cucumberflavoured drinks brand, says, “The last few years have seen a growth in high-end mixers to complement the trend towards premium spirits. We already know that consumers think our cucumber-flavoured products are perfect for making long mixed drinks with so we’re expecting big things from our new Qcumber Premium Mixer. The G&Q is already established as a contemporary interpretation of the classic gin and tonic combination, and our new premium mixer will build on this popularity.”

According to OMG Facts researchers have found some key differences between the people who identify themselves as being a Coke drinker or a Pepsi drinker.

For instance: Coke people prefer things like sushi, and might have tasted caviar.

It's more likely that Pepsi drinkers haven't had a holiday in 6 months while Coke drinkers are more likely to show up early to an appointment. Pepsi drinkers? On time or late.

And finally you better start stocking up on water... research indicates that Water will overtake carbonated drinks as the world's best selling soft drink shortly as health conscious consumers turn their back on sugary drinks. Researchers Canadean say that by the end of December 53 billion gallons (238bn litres) of bottled water will have been sold compared to 50 billion gallons (227bn litres) of fizzy drinks.

DRAM DECEMBER 2015 31

Tel 01506 426200 ‘Congratulations to The Printing

Press and we are delighted to have provided support in the design, manufacture and installation of the kitchen and bar.’ 1 Bell Square, Brucefield Industry Park, Livingston, EH54 9BY www.scomaccateringequipment.com

21-25 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 2PB

THE PRINTING PRESS DESIGN FOCUS

T

he Printing Press Bar & Kitchen in Edinburgh opened last month to a fanfare marked by a great opening party. The new venue is an elegant and large addition to George Street and as you would imagine, there was substantial investment by the owners Starwood Capital, who own the adjacent George Hotel, which ran into millions.

The new bar is situated in a listed Georgian townhouse and boasts a large restaurant area at the front, a bar on the right and a rear restaurant and bar area. The design itself was developed by Sara Cosgrove, Design Director on the project and restaurateur Des McDonald, who also helped create the coffee house next door. He, Sara and architects Goddard Littlefair worked together on just about every detail of the scheme, from architectural restoration to paint finishes, lighting design to final touches.

The company were aiming for a clean and contemporary venue which was respectful of the original architecture.

Many of the original Georgian features have been retained and they have been combined with complementary fixtures, fitting and furniture. You can see the quality of the workmanship in the detail in the Printing Press Bar & Kitchen.

The design team worked with a number of local companies to complete the project. For example, the joinery work was carried out by Thomas Johnstone Ltd., whose location was

32 DRAM DECEMBER 2015

BY SUSAN YOUNG key to allow frequent visits, ensuring the fixtures exactly fitted the listed building’s mouldings.

You enter the restaurant and bar through a classic revolving door, and immediately the black and white tiled floor, the height of the ceilings and grand chandeliers, give you an impression of classic elegance. It is spacious, airy and light. It is lovely to see the restored central ceiling rose which creates a dramatic focal point above the main restaurant; whilst the imposing, grand turned oak bar and bronze gantry add to the warm and convivial ambience.

The main restaurant features three large booths with a mix of velvet and leather-like upholstery in black, while the walls are creamy, with lots of oval and round framed antique mirrors.

Faux-antique mirrors are also used on the left-hand side wall and stretch almost the length of it. Self-standing dark wood tables, seating four, inhabit the centre of the lower restaurant area, and the upper restaurant area too.

As you enter the main restaurant you can see through to the far end of the upper restaurant, which is situated up a couple of steps from the main area, and while this area boasts a large bar, there is also a bar area to the right, as you enter. This too is situated up a couple of stairs.

Explains Sara, “One of the biggest challenges has been to differentiate between the upper bar – which is more casual and focused on drinks – and the two main restaurant spaces,

each of which has its own, distinctive look and feel. We wanted everything to have a sense of arrival and a warm welcome.

As we all know, the Scottish weather is unpredictable and the wind can whip up George Street, so the soft seating and suffused lighting – together with the great food and handcrafted cocktails - create a haven where people can relax and enjoy themselves.”

The bars have heavy marble tops, and wood panelling beneath.

While the main restaurant also features dark wood panelling.

Muted lighting comes from wall lights, and the modern chandeliers in both restaurant areas certainly add a dash of panash. With 190 covers this is no small scale addition to George Street, and the bar will be open now to the earlier hours, with food on offer til’ late.

In a nod to its literary heritage, and the name of the venue, there are vintage typewriters, classic Scottish novels, and old print boxes, some of which have come from Edinburgh antique shops and booksellers.

The George Street townhouse boasts a rich literary heritage: Susan Ferrier – who was the equal of Jane Austen, in the opinion of Sir Walter Scott – lived at no. 25, where Robbie Burns was a regular visitor. Perhaps in the days and months to come, someone else will pen a literary novel while enjoying a coffee or even a cocktail or two at the bar.

DRAM DECEMBER 2015 33

Bothwell Street, Glasgow G2 4JR

BAVARIA BRAUHAUS DESIGN FOCUS

W

hen Raymond Codona decided to turn his Madness theme bar on Glasgow’s Bothwell Street into a Bavarian beer hall, he took his whole contracting and design team to Munich to get a feel of what he wanted.

Certainly it seems to have done the trick, because if you can imagine a genuine Bavarian/German beer hall, you can imagine what the Bavaria Brauhaus is like. The striking B-listed building is now open and has undergone a £1m renovation and redesign Marc Hardy of Space ID, the Interior Designers on the project explains, “We wanted to create an authentic beer Keller, and I think this is what we have done. We took the language of how the beer halls were formed, from the family history to the brewing methods, and incorporated these into the design. It’s certainly a more sincere replication of a beer hall rather than a dramatised or trendy one.”

In fact, the original building lent itself well to the design. Says Mark, “It is quite a Germanic building with its bronze finished door, and its ceiling height.”

When you come into the Bavaria Brauhaus the first thing that strikes you, once you have managed to push open the heavy bronze door... is the scale of the room. The ceiling height is some 7.6m high, and the windows on two sides of the building are just about as big! Two very large circular light fittings are certainly talking points. Each boasts a circular

34 DRAM DECEMBER 2015

steel plate with around 24 opaque glass balls, from which a large lantern-like light hangs. These quirky chandeliers (for want of better word) draw attention to the painting on the ceiling which was painted by Michael Wheatley and which show coats or arms, the harvest of hops, and various other depictions from the original beer kellers. Andrew Duncan of Concept Metals Ltd, comments, “Concept Metals Ltd was heavily involved in every aspect of the design and construction of the venue. I think Raymond was visiting us every single day!

It was a great job for us because we took on a lot of tasks for the first time, such as we’d never made chandeliers before.”

Frank Adams of Adams Contracts was the principle contractor on the job, and through his other company Adams Furniture supplied the furniture too. Says Frank, “It was a great project to be involved with. We co-ordinated the job and liaised between the client and the designers, and I think we all really enjoyed it.”

He continues, “It was complete rip-out down, right to the original travertine. Everything in the Bavaria Brauhaus has been purpose-made, from the wood panelling to the balustrade’s, to the tables and wine rack. There is nothing off the shelf, even the Gretel chairs, which came from Germany, were stripped and varnished here.”

To the right-hand side as you come in there is a stair that takes you to the next mezzanine, and to the left of the stair

BY SUSAN YOUNG there is the bar, which extends almost the full length of the room. It boasts a copper top and two amazing brushed steel founts, which are the focal point of the bar. The back bar is quite plain, explains Marc Hardy, “It is a traditional striped back timber bar. We replicated what we saw in Germany and made the area the steins are stored in the authentic way.”

The beer offering includes wide range of premium German/ Bavarian beers as well as a hand-pickedselection of renowned, award winning beers from around the world. The venue’s selection of German Beers is extensive and will revolve around the classic ‘Big 6’ that dominate the Munich brewing scene – Spaten, Hofbrau, Hacken-Pschorr, Augestiner Brau, Paulaner, and Lowenbrau. There are an additional 50-bottled beers on offer.

This area is split from the main drinking area by a room divider with a small shelf, and engraved glass, which allows drinkers who prefer not to be out in the body of the kirk, a space to drink.

To the left as you enter the hall there is an enclave which is encased in steel – it’s almost like a private dining area, which is in full view of the main hall. The fixed seating here has a chanelstyle quilted appearance.

The hall itself boasts plain oak-topped tables, gretel chairs, and some fixed seating around the wood panelled walls. Around the whole hall, there is what looks like original wood panelling.

DRAM DECEMBER 2015 35

But says Frank Adams, “It’s all new, and freshly stained. few beers!

It wasn’t easy getting it all stained the same colour! Even Marc, Frank and Andrew all enjoyed working on the job. Says the wood around the pillars is new.” The tables, were also Andrew, “Designers always have a lot of great ideas and made for the venue, and can be arranged together or split sometimes it can be challenging to make their view come to seat four. The entire floor to life but we succeeded and downstairs is wooden. helped make the designers and The mezzanine area is on Raymond’s vision come to life!”

WE WANTED TO CREATE three sides – above the While Raymond Codona door, above the bar area AN AUTHENTIC BEER concludes, “ “The Bavarian and at the rear. The black culture is such a vibrant and KELLER, AND I THINK THIS iron balustrade’s which atmospheric one, that the IS WHAT WE HAVE DONE run round the mezzanine opportunity to replicate it in are both graceful and Scotland, especially in Glasgow, MARC HARDY functional.

Upstairs is is truly fantastic. We’ve spent SPACE ID carpeted and will be used a lot of time researching for those that want to dine the traditional institutions of rather than drink. Although Munich, particularly the famous there is a bar area here Hofbrauhaus, which is the key too. You also have the added influence for this project” bonus of getting a great view over the main beer hall from “The products we offer are completely unique to Scotland upstairs. and this kind of concept has never been delivered on such a The back of the hall leads you down to the bathrooms. The scale as this. We believe this will be the perfect compliment original travertine lines the walls here, but the bathrooms themselves are just lovely. Featuring tiled floors and state to Glasgow’s vibrant and buzzing bar and restaurant of the art taps, which wash and dry! Try doing that after a culture.”

36 DRAM DECEMBER 2015

frank adams contracts

FROM CONCEPT TO COMPLETION.

We would like to wish everyone at the Bavaria Brauhaus continued success.

BARS

RESTAURANTS

HOTELS

For your next project contact us: E-mail: info@frankadamscontracts.co.uk Tel: 01355 220 695

adams

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94 Miller Street, Glasgow G1 1DT

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38 DRAM DECEMBER 2015

PAESANO PIZZA

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DESIGN FOCUS

O

ver the last few months customers have been enjoying a different class of pizza at the newly opened Paesano Pizza in Glasgow which is owned by Paul Stevenson, who also has The Italian. Until recently Paul also had The Italian Kitchen in the Merchant City but he sold it before opening his latest pizzeria in Miller Street.

He told DRAM, “I am so proud of The Italian Kitchen and I will always be but it was definitely time for a change. The thing is, people are price led and there are so many deals going on like ‘2-4-1’ and ‘Two meals for £10’ we supplied such a high class of Italian cuisine and just couldn’t compete with these prices. I fancied a change and Paesano Pizza is exactly what I was looking to move on to. I did keep hold of The Italian Caffe though.”

The new venue, designed by CM Design, has two large ceiling to floor windows (with the main door in the middle), the windows let in a great amount light to the restaurant.

Each window has ‘Paesano Pizza’ printed in big, gold writing – you woudln’t be able to miss this walking past.

Another thing you wouldn’t miss is the lighting which hangs on the right hand side of the wall as you walk in the door.

It’s a big, brass like frame that spells out ‘PAESANO’, filled with lots of large, bright bulbs. The bulbs are the same sort you would see attached to a star’s mirror in a Hollywood dressing room! This is the focus point of the

BY LUCY MCGOVERN whole restaurant and adds a really warm feeling. of the classic Neopolitan pizza and as always, the most It’s an open plan venue which extends to the kitchen. This important thing to me is fresh, high quality produce.” means diners can watch the chefs hard at work and spy On the wall next to the kitchen, there’s a tall wooden frame the pizza’s being prepared. The chefs are all speaking in which holds all the logs for the ovens (stacks and stacks of Italian to one another which adds a really authentic touch. them). The rustic feel that both the logs and the oven flames The flames from the ovens are give off adds to the Paesano visible which gives off a warm charm. vibe. Paul uses the Gianni The restaurant has 160 WE ONLY DO ONE Acunto from Napoli Ovens, covers and there is bench PRODUCT – PIZZA. AS WE which cost £20,000. He tells seating throughout. The ONLY DO ONE THING, IT me, “We only do one product – benches have a metal frame pizza. As we only do one thing, it and well finished wooden NEEDS TO BE PERFECT. needs to be perfect.” tops. Each bench sits up The ovens are created to six customers with the PAUL STEVENSON, especially for the art of cooking exception of two long tables OWNER, PAESANO pizza and they follow a design which run down the middle which is nearly 400 years-old. of the room. Rather than Paul continues, “The great thing benches, there are 12 about the ovens is that they can chairs around each table. cook a pizza in a minute! We keep the dough in the fridge for Every table in the place has olive oil and old Italian tins on two days before cooking and it’s left to rise really slowly. This them, a nice touch. process breaks down the gluten and starch which means The centre of left hand side of the room stands the bar. It is the pizza is soft, light and really easy to eat! It’s then cooked quite small and square shaped with six stools for customers. for 60-90 seconds in a hot wood-fired oven which adds to Behind the bar, there’s a tall, metal frame piled high with red the authentic taste. We’ll be sticking to the characteristics wine. Actually, the only alcohol they serve is beer and DRAM DECEMBER 2015 39

wine, Paul says this is to keep the menu simple.

Paul described the place as having a bit of a ‘factory feel’. Infact, alongside the kitchen there is a space where customers can watch staff preparing the dough which is really popular with customers.

Paul said there is a factory feel because the large metal pipes that run along the ceiling are all still exposed and the lighting has that industrial feel.

The interior is quite plain, not that it’s boring, it’s just not over complicated. The walls are white and there are some black and white prints, all placed in nice, neat rows. Next to the main door, there is a big print on the wall about the fresh ingredients and fresh produce that Paesano Pizza uses, this is cleverly situated as passers by will also be able to see this.

I asked Paul if there were any struggles along the way, he says “Not really, to be honest. The refurbishment took three 40 DRAM DRAM DECEMBER DECEMBER 201 2015 5

months in total and everything pretty much went to plan.” I did wonder if the Italian restaurant, SoHo, would have been upset by Paesano opening up next door but Paul reassured me they weren’t, “The two places are very different. SoHo is a bar and Italian restaurant whereas Paesano is a pizza restaurant.

There is definitely room for the two of us.”

What I like about this place is that you could nip in for a pizza while wearing jeans and a t-shirt but also start off your Saturday night there wearing a dress and heels. Paul confirmed this, “We appeal to all markets. During the day the clientele is mainly people working in the Merchant City. At night we have families, students, couples, large parties, anybody who wants a great pizza.” It seems that Paesano is living up to its translation ‘pal’ as a great place to dine with friends.

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SUE SAYS

hen I got involved with the Hospitality Industry Trust a few years ago my aim was to make the two parts of the industry more involved with each other, after all hospitality is hospitality, whether you run a pub, a bar or a hotel... so I’m delighted that David Cochrane, Chief Executive of HIT has managed to team up with The BEN and the SLTA, to offer brand new scholarships for the trade.

Speaking about the licensed trade industry scholarships HIT Chief Executive, David Cochrane said, “Striving to make Scotland the best hospitality industry in the world has been the work of HIT for the past 21 years, and working with two other industry bodies in licensed trade is one way in which we expect to achieve this. I know that these scholarships will help to shape the future of the Scottish hospitality and licensed trade industry.” HIT Scotland has awarded over 1,000 emerging talent scholarships and 10,000 bursaries since it formed in 1994.

One of the highlights of this month/year (for me) was George Clooney’s visit to Edinburgh. A phone call from David Wither’s PA Ceri, was a real tonic. “Fancy coming to Edinburgh for lunch at Tigerlily... George Clooney is also going to be there...” Well how could I refuse. Of course, he was dining with Scottish business dignatories, but we perched at the bar and enjoyed the whole spectacle. And yes he is gorgeous! He was seated directly in front of the route to the ladies toilets, so David saying... “Remember you have a weak bladder!” was the best advice I’ve had all year!

Another memorable event this month was the 80th Birthday bash for Rogano. What a night. More than 500 folk crammed in to the establishment for champagne and oysters... and lots of chat, and dressed up to the nines. It was a superb party put on by owner James Mortimer and his family with customers from across the years enjoying the hospitality and lots of Rogano stories too.

It wasn’t the only birthday party that I attended this month. Lisa Wishart of Lisini also had memorable bash to celebrate a significant birthday. More than 200 ladies enjoyed a superb lunch at Dalziel Park, and despite arriving on crutches, after injuring her knee. Lisa still managed to look as glamourous as ever. The great thing about this trade is when it lets its hair down, it REALLY lets its hair down. Happy Birthday Lisa.

I popped into the recently opened St Luke’s in Glasgow’s East end recently for a bite of lunch with Steve Graham from Manorview. However when he arrived I was already sitting with a coffee and a piece of Millionaire’s shortcake...

“Couldn’t you wait he enquired?” Honestly, it arrived gratis, as the venue had a new supplier and they were garnering the opinion of customers... so for the record it was great!

Stewarton is less than a 10 minute drive from my house so I am delighted that Buzzworks have now got their new bar and restaurant, The Mill House, open. In fact the opening night

was absolutely stowed. Having seen a fair few venues that Jim Hamilton has designed over the years, all of which look great, I am beginning to think, however, that he may have a issue with folk around 6ft. I noticed Kenny Blair knocking his head off a hanging overhead light feature in the private dining area of the new venue, it struck me (excuse the pun) that I’ve seen this happen quite a few times in other venues designed by the guru... maybe it’s his trademark?

Our licensee interview which Annabelle Love conducted this month is good news for the trade. New owner Graeme Finnie is a well known accountant, and if he is willing to invest substantially in the licensed trade then bank managers out there should too!

This is my last column of the year, and it’s been a great year for the DRAM. Our best yet. It is also good to get feedback, and it’s great when it’s positive. John Carrigan of Carrigan’s in Hamilton said to me recently, ‘I enjoy reading the DRAM, I always learn something.” To me that is the best accolade of all.

Here’s to next year!

DRAM DECEMBER 2015 43

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ROUND UP ROGANO’S CELEBRATION

Jamie McComb of Monpeliers with George Clooney at Tigerlily.

The George general manager Andreas Maszczyk is pictured presenting George Clooney with personalised Scottish Herringbone Harris Tweed dog collars as a thank you for staying at the hotel.

DRAM DECEMBER 2015 45

ROUND UP

Scottish Licensees honoured at Star’s Pub Awards Star Pubs & Bars honoured the achievements of some of its most outstanding Scottish licensees at its annual Star Awards this week. Four Scottish operators came out tops in the Star Pubs & Bars Northern region of 307 pubs. They were: Iain Pert and Gordon Gilhooley of PG Taverns Scotland won the most nominations for their stunning creation of the Jolly Botanist in Edinburgh,winning Best Marketing as well as finalist positions for Retailer of the Year and Best Use of Social Media.; The Kirkhouse in Glasgow retained its Heart of the Community accolade for a second year running under the stewardship of licensee Frank Healey; Phil Crowder and Arlene Allan of the Faerie Tree in Aberfoyle were the best in the region for Most Family Friendly Pub while James and Louise Rusk of the Butchershop Bar & Grill in Glasgow won acclaim for the Best Use of Social Media.

The recent Boutique Bar Show, held for the first time, at The Old Fruit Market, Glasgow, went down a storm with brand owners and attendees, who loved the new venue.

DRAM DRINKS RETAILING AND MARKETING PUBLISHED BY MEDIA WORLD LIMITED UPPER FLOOR / FINNIESTON HOUSE, 1 THE STABLES YARD / 1103 ARGYLE STREET, GLASGOW / G3 8ND t. 0141 221 6965 e. dram@mail.com web. www.dramscotland.co.uk Editor Susan Young • Chairman Noel Young • Editorial Annabelle Love Advertising Lucy McGovern, Robert McManus • Production Michel Rahme • Admin Cheryl Cook Published by Media World Ltd. Subscriptions: DRAM is available by subscription for all other qualified persons involved in the Scottish Licensed Trade at the rate of £52 per annum including the DRAM Yearbook. The publishers, authors and printers cannot accept liability for errors or omissions. Any transparencies or artwork will be accepted at owner’s risk. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the copyright holder and publisher, application for which should be made to the publisher. Articles published in this magazine do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the publishers. © Media World Limited 2015.

Printed by Stephens & George Print Group.

46 DRAM DECEMBER 2015

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Source: CGA On-Trade Scotland by Country April 2015