The Ops Club Podcast

Gail's, VAT and the World Cup

In this episode we catch up after a tough week for Tom of slow sales and a back to basics management meeting. Also in this episode: * Why so little has changed for hospitality in the last three years * Whether a VAT cut is the one thing that would actually help * Why the public has stopped paying attention to pub closures * Cheap chicken versus posh chicken * What the World Cup means for pubs * Tom building his own apps * The Gail's salty sandwich story * Why Manchester is booming

John Nugent on Slow Growth, Strong Partnerships and Reimagining London's Most Iconic Spaces

In this episode we sit with John Nugent, CEO and co-founder of Green & Fortune with Peter Millican, and co-founder of Daffodil Mulligan's and Gibney's with Richard Corrigan. We trace John's 37 years in London hospitality, from arriving in 1989 to manage the back of house at a 800-bedroom hotel by Tower Bridge, to becoming CEO of Searcy's in his mid-thirties, to co-founding Green & Fortune over a cup of tea and a chance introduction that turned into a 20-year partnership. John reflects on opening King's Place in King's Cross in 2008, just days before Lehman Brothers collapsed, and taking a long bet on an area few others believed in at the time. He shares why he has resisted private equity in favour of slower, more measured growth, his take on modern Irish hospitality in London beyond the clichés, the new project on the horizon, and the one piece of advice he gives every young manager he mentors.

If You're Surviving, You're Winning

In this episode we get into Tom's new site, the chaos of opening over Easter, and why the "river of operations" pulls even experienced operators under. We talk Whitbread, Pizza Express, Franco Manca and why pubs are holding up while mid-market casual dining isn't. And Travis shares what came out of the recent Ops Club's Q1 margins session.

Soho Pizza, £8 Pints and the Booking Black Hole

In this episode, Travis and Tom get into the changing vibe of a well-known London pizza spot, and what it says about the gap between a great concept launch and operational reality. They talk AI in hospitality - slow booking response times, stretched sales teams, and whether tech is the answer to an ongoing problem in the industry. And they get into the economics of a pint. Guinness pricing, supply chain squeezes, and a nifty tool called Percy that could save independents serious money.

Vibe Coding, BrewDog and 300 Pubs

In this episode we get into the AI tool that's finally going to get Tom's website sorted, and why hospitality operators are still only scratching the surface with technology. We talk about Stonegate, BrewDog. And whether knowing when to sell is the most underrated skill in the industry.