Benugo
| Benugo | |
| Industry | Restaurants, Cafes |
| Founded | 1998 |
| Founder | Ben Warner |
| Headquarters | London , England |
| Owner | WSH Group |
| Website | benugo.com |
Benugo (benúːgoʊ) is a British catering company. It operates high street cafes, restaurants, dining spaces inside public buildings as well as in-house corporate cafes. As of March 2014, Benugo had more than 70 individual locations; most of these are in London, with some locations outside including Bath, Oxford, Coventry, Edinburgh and Stirling.
History
Benugo was founded in 1998 by brothers Ben Warner and Hugo Warner in Clerkenwell, London.
Benugo signed its first public space contract at the Victoria & Albert Museum in 2004,[1] and opened a restaurant, Benugo bar and kitchen, in the British Film Institute building in 2007.[2] Further cultural sites with Benugo Bar and Kitchens include Warwick Arts Centre, in Coventry.[3]
In 2008 the investment company WSH bought an interest in Benugo.[4]
By 2014, the chain had about 2,000 employees.[5]
High Street
In 2014, Benugo operates 11 high street shops throughout London, including Clerkenwell, Curzon St, Hanover St,[6] Luton Airport, Covent Garden, Great Portland St, Cannon St, St Pancras, Waterloo Station, Wigmore Street and Victoria.
Benugo specialises in freshly made sandwiches, salads and coffee. The company was presented with a London Lifestyle Award in 2011 as London's Coffee Shop of the Year[7] and 2013.[8]
Public spaces
In addition to the high street business, Benugo also runs the cafes and restaurants in a number of public spaces, including the Victoria and Albert Museum. The company provides catering facilities in the Natural History Museum,[9] The Science Museum,[10] and most recently The British Museum[11][12] and Wellcome Collection[13] in 2012 and 2013 respectively. In 2013, Benugo began planning a bar and café at the English National Opera.[14] As of 2015, this development is not yet complete.[15]
Benugo also operates ten restaurants in or next to other cultural and public spaces including at the Museum of London, the Bishopsgate Institute, in Hyde Park, at Westminster Abbey, at National Museums Scotland, in Lincoln's Inn Fields and at Willen Lake in Milton Keynes.
The club at the House of St Barnabas
In 2013, Benugo opened The Club restaurant and bar at the House of St Barnabas,[16] and is part of the charity's employment academy. Benugo guarantees to take on a certain number of graduates from the charity's academy per year and also agrees to train them for careers in hospitality within the club.
References
- ^ "Great range of food at our new museum". Oxford Times. 11 November 2009 by Helen Peacocke
- ^ Big Hospitality, May 2007, Benugo bar and kitchen to open in British Film Institute
- ^ "Benugo Bar and Kitchen comes to Warwick Arts Centre". Coventry Observer. 22 February 2022 by Ashleigh Osborne
- ^ "The restaurant guru who never put financial gains on his menu ". CityAM..
- ^ "Coffee connoisseurs help drive Benugo sales". Financial Times. 11 June 2014.
- ^ "High rents force closure of Benugo’s Westfield outlet". Baker Info, 20 February 2014 By Anne Bruce.
- ^ London Lifestyle Awards Winners 2011
- ^ " M.A.S.H, ETM Group and Benugo amongst winners at London Lifestyle Awards". London Lifestlyle Awards 2013. October 25, 2013 ]
- ^ "Benugo to cater at London's Natural History Museum", Caterer and Hotelkeeper. September 2008
- ^ "Benugo takes Science Museum deal worth £25m from Elior". Caterer and Hotelkeeper, April 2011,
- ^ "Benugo wins £40m deal at British Museum". Caterer and Hotelkeeper, February 2012
- ^ "Museum eateries go upmarket". Financial Times.
- ^ "Benugo wins £10m Wellcome Collection contract from Peyton and Byrne". Caterer and Hotelkeeper, June 2013
- ^ "English National Opera to open café with Benugo in £1.2m foyer transformation".
- ^ "English National Opera hopes foyer cafe will help finances match artistic success". The Guardian Mark Brown, 8 April 2015
- ^ Caterer and Hotelkeeper, March 2013, Benugo to offer homeless people jobs at House of St Barnabas