Strada is a chain based in the United Kingdom of branded

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

s specialising in

Italian cuisine Italian cuisine (, ) is a Mediterranean cuisine#CITEREFDavid1988, David 1988, Introduction, pp.101–103 consisting of the ingredients, recipes and List of cooking techniques, cooking techniques developed across the Italian Peninsula and late ...

with two Strada sites and six Coppa Clubs, all in

Southern England Southern England, or the South of England, also known as the South, is an area of England consisting of its southernmost part, with cultural, economic and political differences from the Midlands and the North. Officially, the area includes G ...

History

The concept was spawned by Luke Johnson in 2000 and, over five years, expanded to thirty restaurants. In September 2005,

Richard Caring Richard Allan Caring (born 4 June 1948) is a British businessman. He initially built a business, International Clothing Designs, supplying Hong Kong-manufactured fashion to UK retailers. After surviving the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, he di ...

bought the chain from Johnson for £60m. During this period of ownership, twenty more restaurants were added to the chain and, in May 2007 they, along with five

Belgo Belgo was a chain of London restaurants specializing in simple Belgian cooking and Belgian beer. There were five Belgo restaurants: Belgo Centraal (Covent Garden), Belgo Holborn, Belgo Kings Cross, Belgo Nottingham and Belgo Bromley ; followin ...

and Bierodrome restaurants, were acquired by Tragus Group Ltd for £140m, owner of the brands

Cafe Rouge A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...

Bella Italia Bella Italia (formerly known as Bella Pasta) is a chain of over 90 restaurants offering meals inspired by Italian cuisine in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The chain is part of The Big Table Group, which also owns Café Rouge and Las Iguanas. ...

, Potters Bar & Kitchen and Huxleys. In September 2012, Strada joined the

Nectar loyalty card Nectar is a loyalty card scheme in the United Kingdom run by Nectar 360 Ltd, a company wholly owned by Sainsbury's. The scheme is the largest in the United Kingdom, and comprises a number of partner companies including Sainsbury's, Esso and eBay ...

reward scheme as a redemption partner. In July 2013, Strada began a partnership with the Gourmet Society, offering their members discounts on production of a Gourmet Society restaurant discount card. In September 2014, forty three of Strada restaurants were bought by

Hugh Osmond Hugh Edward Mark Osmond (born March 1962) is an entrepreneur and businessman and was the founder of Punch Taverns, one of the UK's largest chains of public houses. Early life Hugh Edward Mark Osmond was born in March 1962, the son of a doctor, a ...

Sun Capital Partners Sun Capital Partners, Inc., is an American private equity firm specializing in leveraged buyouts. Sun Capital was founded in 1995 by Marc J. Leder and Rodger Krouse, former classmates at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and ...

from Tragus Group (renamed

Casual Dining Group Casual Dining Group (CDG), formerly Tragus Group, operated 250 restaurants in the United Kingdom. CDG operated restaurants primarily under the Bella Italia, Café Rouge and Las Iguanas names. It also operates sites under the Belgo, Huxleys, Ori ...

) for £37m, retaining their existing management team, led by James Spragg. In 2017, over twenty restaurants closed, in turn, many other branded restaurant companies also closed many sites in 2017 and 2018. As of , Strada has two Strada sites and six Coppa club sites (with two sites of Strada turning into one Coppa Club).

Charity

In March 2013, Strada were official partners of

Comic Relief Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic episo ...

, the British charity founded in 1985 that aims to "bring about positive and lasting change in the lives of poor and disadvantaged people."

Tipping and minimum wage

In June 2009, the company was found to be threatening to dismiss wait staff, who do not get customers to pay tips on credit cards rather than in cash. Credit card tips were used by the company to subsidise wages (which are usually the legal minimum) whereas cash tips go directly to wait staff. In line with changes to tipping legislation, which came into effect on 1 October 2009, Tragus Ltd. reviewed and updated its policies to ensure that all tips, after a 10% deduction for administrative and other costs paid by credit or debit card, are now distributed through the payroll system to restaurant staff. All Tragus Group employees are now paid tips in addition to the National Minimum Wage.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 2000 establishments in England British companies established in 2000 Companies based in the City of Westminster Italian restaurants in the United Kingdom Pizza chains of the United Kingdom Restaurant groups in the United Kingdom Restaurants established in 2000

History

Charity

Tipping and minimum wage

See also

References

External links