Working from home has changed the way the UK dines out forever

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Louise Thomas

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Working from home has changed the way we dine-out, according to a major pizza chain boss

More people are shaking off the Sunday back-to-work blues and dining out on a Sunday evening, while Fridays have become “tougher” for hospitality firms.

It comes amid a shift in post-Covid working patterns.

Thom Elliot, the co-founder of Pizza Pilgrims, said dining behaviour had changed with the onset of hybrid working.

“I think the ‘treat meal’ in the week still exists,” he told the PA news agency, adding: “We’ve definitely seen a change in the make-up of that week – Thursdays are now commonly accepted as the new Fridays.”

But this has made trading tougher on a Friday, he said, with hospitality firms previously enjoying some of their strongest sales at the end of the working week.

Nevertheless, Mr Elliot said Saturdays were “much bigger” than pre-Covid, while there was evidence to suggest that more people are eating out on a Sunday night.

“I’m allocating this to the mindset of; ‘I don’t have to go to the office on Monday morning, so if I’m a little bit slower out of the gates, that’s probably okay’,” the businessman speculated.

Pizza Pilgrims runs a chain of about 25 restaurants in the UK, in cities including London, Leeds, Brighton and Cardiff.

The business recently revealed that its pre-tax profit more than doubled to £700,000 in the year to June 2023, its most recent accounts, while revenues grew by more than a third to £29 million.

Mr Elliot said there was a “goldrush toward neighbourhood areas during Covid” with restaurants opening up in a bid to attract consumers staying close to home.

But the number of visitors has broadly returned to pre-Covid levels, the founder said, with busy city hotspots such as London’s West End “back and busier than ever”.

The businessman, who founded Pizza Pilgrims with his brother James in 2012, said diners spent an average of about £16 to £17 per visit to its pizzerias.

The casual dining sector has seen a number of new entrants growing rapidly in recent years, with pizza chain Franco Manca founded in 2008 and growing to operate more than 70 restaurants across the UK.

Meanwhile, other struggling chains have grappled with the post-pandemic recovery, soaring food and energy costs, and consumers tightening their belts against cost-of-living pressures.

The operator of TGI Fridays in the UK fell into administration earlier this month and has been trying to secure a buyer for its 87-strong chain of restaurants.

Meanwhile, unions and equality campaigners have called for an end to a “witch hunt” against flexible working.

Organisations including the TUC, Age UK, Fawcett Society and Pregnant Then Screwed say there have been escalating attacks against employees being able to work more flexibly.

They issued a joint statement as the Government prepares to publish its Employment Rights Bill, which will cover issues including zero hours contracts, hire and rehire, and rights to flexible working.

It said: “It’s time to stop the witch hunt against flexible working. In recent weeks, we have seen relentless scaremongering about how new legislation on flexible working will harm UK businesses and productivity.

“These warnings couldn’t be further from the truth.

“Flexible working can bring more people back into the labour market and keep them there.”