punta de rieles bella italia . this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . february 2010 learn how and when to remove this template message bella italia bella italia on briggate in leeds . type private industry restaurant headquarters london uk parent casual dining group website www.bellaitalia.co.uk bella italia formerly known as bella pasta is a chain of over 90 italian restaurants operating in the united kingdom . 1 the chain is part of the casual dining group who also own caf rouge and las iguanas . contents 1 history 2 charity 3 food 4 tipping and minimum wage 5 environmental record 6 see also 7 references 8 external links history edit bella italia started life as two small restaurant chains pastificio and pizzaland which were part of the grand metropolitan group . 2 in 1990 michael guthrie former chairman of mecca leisure group formed brightreasons and bought the pizzaland and pastificio chains from grand metropolitan for 20m in february 1991 rebranding pastificio to bella pasta in the process . 3 in february 1993 brightreasons purchased 43 pizza piazza and prima pasta restaurants from rank organisation for 20.25 m 4 bringing their total number of restaurants to 165 . in may 1994 brightreasons started preparing for a stock market flotation and the group was expected to be valued at between 70m 100m . 5 this was subsequently announced in september 6 however in november 1994 the planned flotation was postponed . 7 in november 1996 brightreasons was put up for sale 8 after suffering a particularly tough trading period in 1995 . 9 in december 2002 the bella pasta chain was rebranded as bella italia and the first fully branded restaurant opened in leeds . in september 2012 bella italia joined the nectar loyalty card reward scheme as a redemption partner . 10 in september 2013 bella italia began a partnership with the gourmet society offering their members discounts on production of a gourmet society restaurant discount card . charity edit in june 2012 bella italia began officially supporting the children s society by donating some of the profit from a selected dish on the menu to the charity . in 2013 bella italia officially partnered with comic relief the british charity founded in 1985 that aims to bring about positive and lasting change in the lives of poor and disadvantaged people . food edit the menu combines pizza and pasta which is their main product with a range of grill and speciality dishes . the food is complemented by some italian wines many from smaller producers beers and soft drinks . 11 tipping and minimum wage edit in 2009 the company was found to be threatening to dismiss waiting 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 waiting staff . 12 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 restaurant employees are paid tips in addition to the national minimum wage . 13 environmental record edit in november 2015 the chain received the worst rating of all restaurants surveyed in an assessment of the sustainability of its seafood . 14 see also edit list of italian restaurants references edit http www.tragusgroup.com brands bella italia nisse jason 19 january 1994 . facing away from mecca michael guthrie has learned the dangers of debt . . london the independent . retrieved 27 november 2012 . blackhurst chris . my best deal the business rejuvenator michael guthrie . . management today . retrieved 27 november 2012 . murray john 20 february 1993 . brightreasons buys rank food outlets . london the independent . retrieved 27 november 2012 . brightreasons prepares for flotation . caterer and hotelkeeper . retrieved 27 november 2012 . guthrie serves 70m flotation . caterer and hotelkeeper . retrieved 27 november 2012 . brightreasons stalls flotation . caterer and hotelkeeper . retrieved 27 november 2012 . cope nigel 2 november 1996 . whitbread eyes pounds 40m brightreasons sites . london the independent . retrieved 27 november 2012 . sangster andrew . brightreasons in sales talks after tough 1995 . caterer and hotelkeeper . retrieved 27 november 2012 . tragus joins nectar promo . peach report . retrieved 26 november 2012 . bella italia menus . bella italia . elliott jamie 28 june 2009 . cafe waiters fear the axe over cash tips . london the guardian . retrieved 21 november 2012 . bella italia service charge . bella italia . http www.theguardian.com environment 2015 nov 18 family restaurant chains unsustainable seafood wagamama bella italia external links edit official website media related to bella italia at wikimedia commons v t e food chains in the united kingdom casual dining angus steakhouse ask beefeater grill bella italia brewers fayre byron hamburgers caf rouge carluccio s chiquito damon s ed s easy diner frankie & benny s giraffe gourmet burger kitchen harry ramsden s harvester hungry horse la tasca little chef loch fyne restaurants nando s ok diner pizza hut pizzaexpress prezzo strada table table taybarns t.g.i. friday s toby carvery tony roma s wagamama wahaca wildwood kitchen zizzi fast food barburrito burger king chicken cottage chipotle mexican grill dixy chicken domino s pizza five guys kfc mcdonald s morley s papa john s pizza sam s chicken sbarro southern fried chicken subway taco bell tops pizza tortilla wasabi wimpy yo sushi baked goods auntie anne s cinnabon cooplands ditsch dunkin donuts eat greggs krispy kreme millie s cookies patisserie valerie pret a manger sayers spudulike upper crust the west cornwall pasty company coffee shops and tea rooms amt coffee betty s caff nero caff ritazza coffee 1 coffee republic costa coffee harris hoole starbucks dairy baskin robbins ben & jerry s kaspa s shakeaway pub chains all bar one chef & brewer o neill s scream pubs slug and lettuce walkabout wetherspoons yates s retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title bella italia & oldid 743803239 categories restaurant groups in the united kingdomitalian restaurantshidden categories articles needing additional references from february 2010all articles needing additional referencesofficial website different in wikidata and wikipediacommons category without a link on wikidata navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout 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