Staging Dram Scotland

Tag: Balmoral Hotel

A good Rep isn’t hard to find: Calum Fraser

It’s been a while since we profiled your brand reps – aka business development managers and executives etc. to give them a couple of their official titles.

Some might say it’s been too long. So here’s the final of our first ten, and we enjoyed catching up with them so much and there are so many of you doing a similarly grand job, we’re going to feature reps every month. Get in touch if you want to be included.

 

Calum Fraser

Premium Spirits Specialist

William Grant & Sons

UK

 

Calum, 34, has been with Wm Grant & Sons for three years and worked throughout the pandemic. He handles brands such as Discarded, Ailsa Bay, and low-alcohol brand Atopia, and Calum was first recruited as part of Wm Grant’s 1887 on-trade advocacy programme.

Originally from Linlithgow, he went to University in Edinburgh where he studied journalism but thought better of a career as a hack after the ‘large scale cuts the industry suffered around 2005.’ Journalism’s loss was hospitality’s gain, and before his time at William Grant, he ran The Finnieston in Glasgow and worked at Edinburgh’s Balmoral Hotel.

How has the pandemic changed his role?

“It’s changed the face of what we do dramatically now that so much of it is done digitally.

“The role is about relationship building. We are the touchstones between brands and the bars but this situation robbed us of the spontaneity of the job and you can’t replace the personal touch.

“Digital obviously has its advantages. It will continue to play its part in allowing bars that are not central or in city hubs to have more access to brand ambassadors for virtual training and tasting sessions or if a portfolio of bars in one group are dotted about.

“Plus it’s not the easiest thing in the world to get bartenders to come in for a couple of hours all at the same time! So in that sense, it’s a great tool.”

So how has it been working since the restrictions began easing for some of us and how has he found dealing with people again?

“There’s a lot of optimism and frustration around.   A lot of people feel the hospitality industry has been railroaded, but we have an amazing industry filled with amazing people and we will bounce back.”

 

Check out all ten brand reps in the June issue of DRAM

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Updated: Opening Dates for key venues and a few who are not opening

Since the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced hospitality can open from 15th July, there has been a flurry of activity. Not all venues have opened though, some are staggering their dates, while others are taking a rain check until next year. Here is a brief update on venues opening and some that are not.

Obviously it is a snapshot … feel free to send us your opening info and we can add you on.  Those with beer gardens will no doubt open on the 15th inside too.

Re-opened on 15th July

The Kimpton Blythswood Square Hotel, Crieff Hydro and its sister hotels, Macdonald Hotels; Edinburgh, Village Hotel Glasgow and Village Hotel Aberdeen and five-star resort Gleneagles while Meldrum House in Oldmeldrum

Pubs:

Vic’s & The Vine in Prestwick,

Lido Troon,

Scotts at Largs Yacht Haven

Scotts South Queensferry at Port Edgar Marina.

The Brass Monkey, Glasgow

Lychee Oriental, Glasgow

Drury Street Bar & Kitchen
, Glasgow

Howlin’ Wolf
, Glasgow

Kitty O’Shea’s
, Glasgow

Metropolitan
, Glasgow

Monterey Jack’s , Glasgow

O’Neills Merchant Square
, Glasgow

St Luke’s & The Winged Ox, Glasgow

Tabac
, Glasgow

The Ark
, Glasgow

Bon Accord, Glasgow

The Horseshoe Bar
, Glasgow

The Merchant
, Glasgow

The Winds, Glasgow

Vodka Wodka, Glasgow

The Clutha, Glasgow

NYC Bar and Grill, Glasgow

The Old College Bar

The Waterloo Bar
, Glasgow

Slouch, Glasgow

The Woods Bar & Kitchen, Glasgow

Lauders, Glasgow

Auctioneers, Glasgow

The Park Bar, Glasgow

Aragon Bar, Glasgow

Gallus, Glasgow

Hillhead Bookclub
, Glasgow

Innis & Gunn Ashton Lane
, Glasgow

Kitty O’Shea’s West End
, Glasgow

Oui Bar at the Radisson Red
, Glasgow

Sky Bar at the Radisson Red
, Glasgow

Stravaigin, Glasgow

Tennent’s Bar
, Glasgow

The Sparkle Horse
, Glasgow

The Three Judges , Glasgow

Thornwood
, Glasgow

Wintersgills
, Glasgow

Church on the Hill
, Glasgow

The Allison Arms
, Glasgow

The Amethyst

, Glasgow

The Bank

, Glasgow

The Bell Jar
, Glasgow

The Granary

, Glasgow

The Old Smiddy

, Glasgow

Zinfandel Gastro Bar

, Glasgow

The Palais

, Glasgow

Van Winkle

, Glasgow

West on the Green

, Glasgow

The Auldhouse Inn, East Kilbride

The Swan Inn, Edinburgh

Montpeliers, Edinburgh

Ox184, Edinburgh

Salt Horse, Edinburgh

The Hanover Tap, Edinburgh

Malones, Edinburgh

The Piper’s Rest, Edinburgh

Hectors,  Edinburgh

Cold Town House, Edinburgh

The Scotsman’s Lounge, Edinburgh

Rose Street Brewery, Edinburgh

One Canonmills, Edinburgh

The Raging Bull Edinburgh

Jeanie Deans Edinburgh

Dirty Dick’s, Edinburgh

Uno Mas Bar, Edinburgh

Malones Edinburgh

Cask Smugglers, Edinburgh

Hectors in Stockbridge, Edinburgh

Good Brothers Wine Bar, Edinburgh

The Scotman’s Lounge, Edinburgh

Bar 50, Edinburgh

Elio’s, Edinburgh

Rose Street Brewery, Edinburgh

Foundry 39, Edinburgh

Rose And Crown, Edinburgh

Ma Cameron’s, Aberdeen

Slain Castle, Aberdeen

Siberia, Aberdeen

Aitchies Ale House, Aberdeen

Gaslamp, Aberdeen

DaVinci Italian restaurant, Aberdeen

Innis & Gunn Brewery Taproom, Dundee

The Nether Inn, Dundee

The Braes, Dundee

Re-opened on 16th July

The Bungo, Glasgow

Decanter, Edinburgh

Opening today 17th July

Tonic, Edinburgh

Hamiltons, Edinburgh

Nobels Cafe Bar & Restaurant, Edinburgh

Kyloe, Edinburgh

The Gate, Glasgow

The 13th Note, Glasgow

Thundercat, Glasgow (formerly Soho on Miller Street).

MacSorleys, Glasgow

Broadcast, Glasgow

Ollie’s, Glasgow

The Brig & Barrel, Dunbar

The Douglas Arms, Dumfries

20th July

Apex City Quay Hotel & Spa in Dundee, Apex Grassmarket Hotel in Edinburgh,

22nd July

Sloans, Glasgow

Tigerlily, Edinburgh

Rabble Taphouse & Grill, Edinburgh

Woodland Creatures, Edinburgh

Scotts at Troon Yacht Haven,

The Coach House in Bridge of Weir,

The Mill House in Stewarton

The Corner House in Kilwinning

The Tree House in Ayr.

29th July

The Voyage of Buck, Edinburgh

Candy Bar in Edinburgh

Indigo Yard, Edinburgh

The Duke and The Long House in Kilmarnock

Lido Prestwick

30th July

New restaurant Glaschu set to open on Glasgow’s Royal Exchange Square in former Western Club building.

Pitlochry’s Knockendarroch Hotel will open its doors to guests again on 30th July

Mother India Cafe, Glasgow

1st August

The Old Course in St Andrews

Edinburgh’s Balmoral Hotel will also open on that date.

Dunmuir Hotel, Dunbar

Closing until further notice:

The Moorfield Hotel in Stornoway

The Muckrach House Hotel in Grantown on Spey

The Pitlochry Hydro

Ayrshire beer garden venues that have opened:

East Ayrshire

• Bar Luca – 46 Bank Street, Kilmarnock

• The Bridgend Inn – 34 Afton Bridgend, New Cumnock

• The Boolers – Milmannoch Avenue, Drongan

• The Burns Inn – 55-57 Low Glencairn Street, Kilmarnock

• The Coach House Inn – Furnace Road, Muirkirk

• The Failford Inn – Failford, Mauchline

• First Edition – 50 Bank Street, Kilmarnock

• Kadikoi – 10 Bonnyton Road, Kilmarnock

• The King’s Arms – 89 Main Road, Fenwick

• Oven – 8 Vennel Street, Stewarton

• The Park Hotel – Rugby Park, Kilmarnock

• The Portmann Hotel – 42 Portland Road, Kilmarnock

• Railway Inn – 26 East Main Street, Darvel

• Rock Diner and Aces – 7 St Marnock Place, Kilmarnock

North Ayrshire

• Cecchinis – 5 Dock Road, Ardrossan Marina

• The Four Seasons – 8-10 Green Street, Saltcoats

• R&A Sport Bar – 86-88 High Street, Irvine

• Revels – 53 Main Street, Kilwinning

• The Station Bar – 16 Station Road, Stevenston

• The Waterside – Ardrossan Road, West Kilbride

• Woodhouse Hotel – 2 Barr Crescent, Largs

South Ayrshire

• The Anchorage Hotel – 149 Templehill, Troon

• Arthur Street Kitchen – 11-13 Arthur Street, Ayr

• The Buf – 36 Main Street, Prestwick

• The Chesnuts Hotel – 52 Racecourse Road, Ayr

• The Fox and Willow – 46 Carrick Road, Ayr

• Golf Inn – 154 Main Street, Prestwick

• McKays- 69 Portland St, Troon

• The Redstone Inn- 92 Main Rd, Ayr

.The Red Lion – 9 The Cross, Prestwick

• Smiths Bar – 13 Dalblair Road, Ayr

• South Beach Hotel – 73 South Beach, Troon (Wednesday, July 8)

Glasgow beer gardens that have opened:

City centre

Bavaria Brauhaus

Bier Halle

Cranside at the Rotunda

Glasgow Beer Works

The Gallery Bar, Brunswick Street

West end / Finnieston

Brel

SWG3

The BrewHaus

Cranside Kitchen at the Rotunda

Partick Duck Club

Cottiers

The Record Factory

The Old School House

East end

West Brewery

Cathedral House

South side

Church on the Hill

The White Elephant

Edinburgh beer gardens

Stac Poly ‘Secret Garden’

The Royal Dick

Dunbar

Station Yard Micropub

 

Remaining closed:-

The George Hotel Edinburgh  is expected to remain closed until February 2021.

Grand Central Hotel, Glasgow will stay closed until next year while undergoing a rebrand.

Scotland’s Spa Hotel on Bonnethill Road town will stay locked up until next year while it is being refurbished.

Wee Lochan on Glasgow’s Crow Road not set to re-open.

A number of Edinburgh restaurants have been forced to close permanently: The Castle Terrace Restaurant, Pibroch on Holyrood Road, the Tower Restaurant on top of the National Museum of Scotland in Chambers Street, Edinburgh Food Studio, which opened to diners in 2018, closed their Dalkeith Road, Saiko Kitchen and Cafe Rouge Edinburgh set to close after parent company Casual Dining Group goes into administration. Chiquito, Frank & Benny’s and Byron Burger are also closing.

Romans Pizzeria & Bar on Glasgow’s Candleriggs has announced its permanent closure but it will continue to trade as a take-away business.

Ingram Wynd on Glasgow’s Ingram Street will also remain closed as will its sister restaurant Esca on Chisholm Street, after 22 years in business.

 The Koh-I-Noor on North Street has also closed its doors.

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News in brief

Worldwide travel firm Kuoni has partnered McKinlay Kidd, which has been creating tailor-made holidays throughout the UK and Ireland since 2003 to offer a new UK section on Kuoni’s website. It features a range of hand-picked itineraries and places to stay which have been chosen by McKinlay Kidd, ranging from five-star luxury hotels to family-run characterful retreats. It now includes trips to Orkney, Shetland and the Outer Hebrides and a five-star Aston Martin 007 weekend in Scotland discovering locations from past Bond movies.https://www.kuoni.co.uk/uk-and-ireland-holidays

In a statement today (29th May) Malcolm Roughead OBE, Chief Executive, VisitScotland said, “The tourism and events industry is waiting to see when they can reopen and start the recovery process. All being well, it looks like the end of the summer is the most optimistic timing we can wish for, although we may have some hiccups along the way if the science informs us otherwise. The Scottish Tourism Emergency Response Group (STERG) is supporting the industry and has now published its full recovery plan – taking the industry through the Scottish Government phases of respond, reset, restart, and recover. He continued, “The plan is not set in stone but a moving feast …”

The Scottish Beer & Pub Association (SPBA) has urged the Scottish Government to adopt a 1-meter social-distancing requirement for bar, pubs, and restaurants and is also seeking more clarity and a three-week notice period to re-open following the publication of the Scottish Government’s Scotland’s route map through and out of the crisis Commenting on the publication Emma McClarkin, Chief Executive of the Scottish Beer & Pub Association said,

“We are pleased by the publication and to see pubs included as part of a possible, limited reopening utilising outdoor spaces in Phase 2. This would be great news for those pubs which are in a position to re-open at this point, however, no two pubs are the same and the practical challenges may mean that many premises will remain closed during this period.

“While the publication of the Scottish framework is welcome, it is clear that further detail will be needed for our sector to be able to look forward with confidence. We believe that pubs should only open when it is safe to do so, but the lack of any dates being attached to phases 2 and 3 gives us some concern.”

News reports suggest that Edinburgh’s Balmoral hotel has set an opening date of 1st August – if so, this would make it the first major hotel in Scotland to do so.

Donald McNaught and Matt Henderson of Johnston Carmichael have been appointed to jointly handle the proposed company voluntary arrangement (CVA) on behalf of three companies in the David Urquhart Group; David Urquhart (Travel) Limited, David Urquhart Transport Limited and Hart Hotels Limited. The hotels include Ross-shire venues the Garve Hotel and Mackay’s Hotel and The Glenmorag Hotel in Dunoon.

Meanwhile, Mars Black Sheep Hotels has been placed in administration, following a legal battle with Aberdeen-based construction firm Douglas and Stewart Construction to whom it owes more than £3 million.

The company, owned by Sanjay and Rachna Narang, includes the Cluanie Inn, at Glenmoriston, and the Whispering Pine Lodge, at Letterfinlay. The group’s other hotel, Rokeby Manor, at Invergarry, is unaffected, as it is owned by a separate entity.

A spokesman for Black Sheep Management Services, which runs the establishments, said the administration move did not affect the operations of the hotels.

UKHospitality has welcomed the Scottish Government’s Advisory Group on Economic Recovery’s call for evidence to support the reopening of Scottish businesses. UKHospitality Executive Director for Scotland, Willie Macleod said, “This is a sensible approach from the Scottish Government. There will need to be a pooling of resources and brainpower in order to give businesses the best chance to survive and get back to some degree of normality after the crisis.  We will certainly be speaking on behalf of Scotland’s hospitality sector and we look forward to liaising with both the Scottish and UK Government to support reopening.

The Casual Dining Group, the owner of Bella Italia and Cafe Rouge is in talks with interested “multiple parties” over the sale of the business, which could save jobs in the 6,000 strong operations. The group said it had “received strong expressions of interest” from other restaurant groups and private equity firms.  https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2020/05/29/cafe-rouge-bella-italia-owner-sale-talks/

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon unveiled the Scottish route map earlier in May – It kicked off on 29th May – Phase 1 – Drive through food outlets, garden centers, and plant nurseries can open with physical distancing. People can visit with another household – outside only – and observing social distancing of 2m, while golf, tennis, and bowling is now back on the agenda again with social distancing.

Although no dates have been set for the final three phases – if allow three weeks between –

Phase 2 (approx 18th/19thJune) physical distancing for all open venues – small retail units with, outdoor markets ( hygiene measures and controls on numbers of people). Pubs and restaurants can open outdoor spaces with increased hygiene routines.

Phase 3 (9th/10th July) – all open venues must adhere to social distancing and increased hygiene routines. These include – Larger retail, pubs and restaurants can open indoor spaces, personal retail services including hairdressers can open. Museums, galleries, cinemas, and libraries can open. Gyms too. Relaxation of restrictions on accommodation providers (including hotels, B&Bs, and holiday homes). Live events permitted with restricted numbers.

Phase 4 – 31st July onwards – All types of outlets would be open in line with public health advice. Shop local could still be encouraged. There would be a further relaxation of restrictions on live events in line with public health advice. Public services would be operating fully, in line with public health advice, with modifications and changes to service design, including increasing use of digital services where appropriate. Gatherings and occasions: Mass gatherings could resume in line with public health advice. All ceremonies could now take place with any necessary precautions.

1 meter, not 2 urge SPBA as they seek clarity on Scottish Route map out of Lockdown

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Alain Roux and Michel Roux OBE to open in the Balmoral

Alain Roux, Chef Patron of The Waterside Inn, Bray-on-Thames, and his father, Michel Roux, O.B.E., legendary chef and restaurateur, are set to launch a new restaurant in Edinburgh at Rocco Forte owned Balmoral Hotel next month. The £3 million renovation project started at the beginning of 2018. Once opened it will boast 210 covers across the restaurant and bar and the food on offer at the new restaurant will include classic French dishes inspired by the finest Scottish ingredients. Alain will take up the position of Signature Chef at the new brasserie and bar that will replace Hadrian’s Brasserie and The Balmoral Bar. He currently retains three Michelin stars at The Waterside Inn, the only restaurant in the world outside France to have upheld this accolade for more than thirty years.   Commenting on the new partnership, Michel Roux added, “The new brasserie marks a unique alliance between the Roux and Forte families. As leaders in our fields, our families are committed to excellence, impeccable service and promoting the next generation with my son, Alain leading the restaurant. We are thrilled to be opening in Edinburgh, the epicentre of Scottish culture and a thoroughly modern city. We are fascinated with its proud past and delighted to be part of its vibrant future as we join forces with the award-winning and iconic Balmoral. It is a formidable synergy, an exciting new venture and we can’t wait to welcome our first customers.”http://www.roccofortehotels.com

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New General Manager for the Balmoral in Edinburgh

Franck Arnold has been appointed general manager of The Balmoral in Edinburgh. Mr Arnold, who starts this month, takes over from Ivan Artolli who was recently promoted to director of operations for the group’s properties in the UK, Belgium and Eastern Europe.
Mr Arnold joins The Balmoral from The Jefferson Hotel in Washington DC, where as managing director, he oversaw an extensive renovation of the property. And prior to taking up his post in Washington, Arnold, who hails from Strasbourg in France, was hotel manager of the Four Seasons Hotel Chicago. Says, Ivan Artolli,: “In Franck, we have a seasoned hotelier who brings with him a blend of luxury hospitality expertise and operational experience. I am confident that under his guidance, The Balmoral will continue to prosper as Edinburgh’s leading five-star hotel. ”

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