F & B : TABLETOP
The Brew at Kerry Hotel Pudong , Shanghai offers a mix of table options that can be moved and combined easily depending on the function at hand .
MANY HATS
The hotel gastropub is much more than just a spot to grab a beer and a burger , as many such outlets are all-daydining venues serving everything from brews to breakfast . Accordingly , tabletops and the tables themselves must reflect this versatility .
The Brew at Kerry Hotel Pudong , Shanghai offers a mix of high bar tables , low seating and even cocktail tables made from old tree trunks , notes Director of Food & Beverage Michael Huang . “ Our tables and tabletop items are easily moveable and combinable , which gives us the ability to cater to the particular request at hand ,” Huang adds . “ We even have the option of converting our billiard table into a buffet table when needed .”
Similarly , Cook Hall at W Atlanta – Buckhead can create a variety of configurations with its small tables , and the absence of table linens adds to the flexibility , says James Gersten , president of New York City-based Culinary Concepts Hospitality Group , the creative and strategic firm behind Cook Hall .
Sometimes adapting a gastropub from day to night is a relatively simple affair . Beacon Public House at the Commons Hotel Minneapolis serves breakfast , lunch and dinner , but Thomas Haas , vice president of F & B for Seattlebased Noble House Hotels & Resorts , which manages the hotel , explains a candleholder is the only piece that is added to tables in the evening . “ There is no higher science behind that — it is so simple and basic ,” Haas says .
Corey Nyman , director of operations at Las Vegasbased consultancy The Nyman Group , agrees that simple accent pieces — a crock of jam at breakfast or a glass bottle with house-made pepper sauce for lunch and dinner , for example — often are the best means for transitioning the gastropub among meal periods . “ These little tweaks help you know where you are and at the same time say , ‘ Wait a minute — that ’ s a little different ,’” Nyman says . www . hotelsmag . com March 2013 HOTELS 41