More people are shaking off back-to-work blues and dining out on a Sunday evening, while Fridays have become “tougher” for hospitality firms amid a shift in post-Covid working patterns, the boss of a pizza chain has suggested. Thom Elliot, the co-founder of Pizza Pilgrims, which has a brand in Brighton's Ship Street, said dining behaviour has changed with the onset of hybrid working. “I think the ‘treat meal’ in the week still exists,” he said, adding: “We’ve definitely seen a change in the make-up of that week – Thursdays are now commonly accepted as the new Fridays.
” The interior of Pizza Pilgrims, Brighton (Image: The Argus) But this has made trading tougher on a Friday, he said. 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.
READ MORE: World's 'smallest pizzeria' on the back of a Vespa Pizza Pilgrims runs a chain of about 25 restaurants in the UK, in cities including London, Leeds and Cardiff. Brighton's branch opened in July 2022. 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 Elli.
