A pub is a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in the late 17th century, to differentiate private houses from those open to the public as alehouses, taverns and inns. Today, there is no strict definition, but CAMRA states a pub has four characteristics:
- is open to the public without membership or residency
- serves draught beer or cider without requiring food be consumed
- has at least one indoor area not laid out for meals
- allows drinks to be bought at a bar
J D Wetherspoon plc is a pub company operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company was founded in 1979 by Tim Martin and is based in Watford. It operates the sub-brand of Lloyds No.1 bars, and 56 Wetherspoon hotels. Wetherspoon is known for converting unconventional premises, such as former cinemas and banks, into pubs. The company is publicly listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
Whitbread is a British multinational hotel and restaurant company headquartered in Houghton Regis, England.
All Bar One is a pub chain consisting of 56 bars in the United Kingdom, owned and operated by Mitchells and Butlers plc which was part of the Six Continents group until 2003.
Mitchells & Butlers plc runs circa 1,784 managed pubs, bars and restaurants throughout the United Kingdom. The company's headquarters are in Birmingham, England. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
Punch Pubs & Co is a pub and bar operator in the United Kingdom, with around 1,300 leased pubs. It is headquartered in the traditional brewing centre of Burton upon Trent in Staffordshire. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange as a constituent of the FTSE SmallCap Index until its sale in 2016 for £403 million to a private equity fund, Patron Capital, acting in concert with Heineken International who acquired 1,900 of Punch's pubs as part of the deal.
Luke Oliver Johnson is a British entrepreneur. He is a former chairman of the Pizza Express chain, the Royal Society of Arts and Channel 4. Johnson calls himself a "projector", in line with the 17th century term for a man involved in many different businesses. He is currently the Chairman of Gail's bakery and Brighton Pier Group, among other businesses. He is a former owner of The Ivy, Le Caprice and J Sheekey restaurants and a former part owner of Giraffe Restaurants.
Roger Myers is the co-founder of Punch Taverns, one of the United Kingdom's largest chains of public houses.
The Colonnades Leisure Park or Croydon Colonnades is an out-of-town leisure park located in the Purley Way retail and industrial district of the London Borough of Croydon, South London. It opened in the late 1990s on the former site of the Croydon Water Palace, an indoor water park complex that operated from 1990 to 1996. It lies alongside the Purley Way Playing Fields, and opposite the former Croydon Airport site.
The Restaurant Group plc is a British chain of restaurants and public houses. Their principal trading brands are Wagamama and Barburrito. The Group also operates Pub restaurants and a Concessions business which trades principally at UK airports.
Matthew Clark is a United Kingdom-based drinks distributor, owned by C&C Group. Founded in 1810, the business primarily serves public houses, restaurants, bars and hotels within the mainland UK.
A gastropub or gastro pub is a pub that serves food of a similar quality to a restaurant. The term was coined in the 1990s in the United Kingdom, though similar pubs already existed.
Thomas Kerridge is an English chef. After initially appearing in several small television parts as a child actor, he decided to attend culinary school at the age of 18. He has since worked at a variety of British restaurants, including the Rhodes in the Square and Adlards.
Claude Bosi is a French chef. Claude's first Head Chef position was at Overton Grange in 1999. He opened his first UK restaurant Hibiscus in the market town of Ludlow, Shropshire, in 2000 and was awarded two Michelin Stars in 2004. In 2007, he relocated the restaurant to London, where he went on to reclaim the two Michelin Stars in 2009.
The Hind's Head is a gastropub in Bray, Berkshire. It dates from the 15th century and was converted into a restaurant in the 1920s. In 2004, it was purchased by the chef Heston Blumenthal, the owner of another Bray restaurant, the Fat Duck.
Lutz Tavern is a bar in the Woodstock neighborhood of Portland, Oregon, in the United States. It was established by the Lutz family in 1947, who maintained ownership until the business was purchased by the Barisich family in 1954. Working-class locals and Reed College students frequent the bar, which is known for popularizing the beer Pabst Blue Ribbon. Lutz closed in 2010 after being run by the Barisich family for 56 years, then re-opened under new ownership and management in 2011.
Crocker's Folly is a Grade II* listed public house at 24 Aberdeen Place, St John's Wood, London. It was built in 1898, in a Northern Renaissance style, and was previously called The Crown. Geoff Brandwood and Jane Jephcote's guide to heritage pubs in London describes it as "a truly magnificent pub-cum-hotel" with "superb fittings", including extensive use of marble. The architect was Charles Worley.
Uber Eats is an online food ordering and delivery platform launched by the company Uber in 2014. The meals are delivered by couriers using various methods, including cars, scooters, bikes, or on foot. It is operational in over 6,000 cities in 45 countries as of 2021.
