Fair Work inspectors will audit up to 100 Canberra restaurants between now and February, 2012, as part of a new Australian Government education and compliance campaign. Inspectors will check that employers are paying staff their full entitlements, including minimum pay rates and penalty rates, and are complying with record-keeping obligations. In the ACT, restaurants and cafes are among the main sources of underpayment complaints to the Fair Work Ombudsman and calls to the Fair Work Infoline. The... ...Read more »

The world’s largest coffee chain, Starbucks Coffee Company, announced today that it has bought American-based premium fruit juice company Evolution Fresh for US$30 million (A$29 million). Announcing the takeover deal today, Starbucks’ President Howard Schultz unveiled plans to establish a chain of juice bars. He said, “With Evolution Fresh, Starbucks will bring a unique, premium juice product to the marketplace, similar to what Starbucks did 40 years ago with coffee. “Not only are we able... ...Read more »

Australia’s largest cafe group, The Coffee Club, will enter the emerging Chinese coffee drinking market this month, opening a cafe in the Yuexiu District in Guangzhou, with a major franchise license sold to the Guangzhou Golden Swan Enterprise Co. John Lazarou, Director of The Coffee Club, said now is the perfect time for the business to enter China, with a strong coffee culture growing in the country despite most Chinese traditionally drinking tea. “With over 1.3 billion people, a growing middle... ...Read more »

Cafe chain The Coffee Club has announced new additions to its menu for the cooler months, with the ‘Greatest of Britain’ menu featuring a range of hearty British meals. The new menu features meals inspired by traditional British recipes using seasonally-available ingredients, and will be available from May 9 to June 19. The ‘Greatest of Britain’ menu includes a traditional British Beef Pie with mushy peas, mashed potato and gravy, a chicken and mushroom filo, a bacon and zucchini quiche,... ...Read more »

Cafe chain The Coffee Club has declared Sydneysiders Australia’s coffee consumption champions, with research revealing more than one in four of the city’s adult population visit cafes 4-7 times per week. The research was undertaken by Nielsen on behalf of The Coffee Club, and clearly shows Sydney is host to Australia’s highest rate of coffee consumption. Kevin El-Hassan from Hurstville, Sydney, enjoys up to four cups of coffee daily and visits coffee outlets at least ten times per week. “It’s... ...Read more »

The latest ABS retail trade figures show that sales in March rose 0.3%, seasonally adjusted, compared with a fall of 1.2% the previous month. Sales rose, in seasonally adjusted terms, across five retail industry groups: Clothing, Footwear & Other Personal Accessory Retailing (1.4%), Department Stores (1.1%), Other Retailing (0.9%), Cafes, Restaurants & Takeaway Food Services (0.7%) and Food Retailing (0.3%). Sales fell in Household Goods Retailing (-1.0%). Cafes, restaurants and takeaway... ...Read more »

Consumers, cafés and restaurants need to be aware of the potential health risks associated with eating poorly handled raw egg products, NSW Primary Industries Minister Steve Whan has warned.The advice was issued following confirmation of a Salmonella outbreak associated with a food retailer in Albury that saw over 130 people reporting to local health authorities with food poisoning symptoms after eating at the outlet. Some of the victims required hospitalisation. “Investigations by NSW Food... ...Read more »

Pro-Visual Publishing is encouraging members of the restaurant and catering industry who did not receive their copy of the 2009/10 edition of Restaurant and Catering Australia’s Guide to Food Safety and Hygiene to get in touch with them to receive the free chart. This year’s Guide, which was sent out to coincide with November’s Australian Food Safety Week, explores correct and appropriate procedures that assist in good workplace hygiene and food safety. It also delves into the topic... ...Read more »

Retail sales rose a further 1.4 per cent in November, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported today, with ‘food retail’ (+1.6%) and ‘cafes, restaurants & takeaway food services’ (+1.1%) both performing similarly to the broader retail market. The strong figures surprised analysts, who were expecting a figure closer to 0.4% or o.5%. “The strong November retail figures shows spending may be starting to realign with consumer confidence,” Margy Osmond, CEO... ...Read more »

Consumers find breakfast fare comforting and many, especially women, wish they could eat it at any time of the day, according to research from America. A study by foodservice industry consultant Technomic discovered that nearly half of consumers surveyed (46 per cent) say they would like to see full-service restaurants offer breakfast throughout the day and about a third (32 per cent) would like breakfast offered all day in limited-service restaurants. In both cases, females were significantly more... ...Read more »