Botany Bay Hotel

We are excited to announce that Shepherd Neame is teaming up with Copper Rivet Distillery, based in Chatham Maritime, to create hand sanitiser for use by our emergency services staff.
Shepherd Neame began brewing ‘clean beer’ for the initiative last Tuesday (March 24). This is at least 10% ABV and no hops will be used to ensure it is aroma and flavour-free.
The brew is being road tankered to the Copper Rivet Distillery, where it will be used as a feed stock for their distill...ing alcohol to create the sanitiser.
The initiative has been launched in response to widespread shortages of hand sanitiser, which has been flagged as an important tool in combating the Coronavirus.
Copper Rivet co-founder Stephen Russell said: “Our business sells Dockyard Gin and Vela Vodka to pubs, bars and restaurants, which are now all closed. In these difficult times, we wanted to use our equipment and resources to support our emergency services, while also protecting distillery jobs, so we decided to look into diverting our production to alcohol hand sanitiser. Our Head Distiller Abhi Banik has worked hard to create a formula that achieves the efficacy of the alcohol while also being kind to the hands.”
Co-founder Matthew Russell added: “We are one of only a handful of English distilleries to make our own neutral alcohol, but such is the likely demand for the sanitiser, that we approached Shepherd Neame to supply specially brewed, high strength beer in bulk to boost our supplies for the distillation process. We already have a strong relationship with the brewery as they list our products, and we wanted to work with a partner we can rely on.”
It is hoped that the first consignment of Copper Rivet’s hand sanitiser will be available by Friday (April 3). This will be initially for the emergency services and public authorities only, including a large quantity for the Met Police.
Shepherd Neame Chief Executive Jonathan Neame said: “Following the Government decision to close all pubs, our current operational focus is to continue production at the brewery to maintain sales to supermarkets. When Copper Rivet approached us about this project, we were delighted to get involved, and have now adapted our output to ensure a steady supply of alcohol for hand sanitiser. We are delighted to be able to support such a fantastic initiative to support the national effort.”
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In these challenging times Shepherd Neame, along with all of our communities, owe all of our gratitude and support to the urgent, difficult work that the NHS staff are doing to help those affected by this virus.
We will be taking part in #clapforourcarers at 8pm today and we would love you to join us. The Clap for our Carers campaign is asking for as many people as possible to put their hands together in a round of applause to thank those working incredibly hard to protect ...us all.
As a business, we are doing our utmost to support the NHS and key workers. We will be updating you on our specific initiatives very soon.
Many of our staff are signing up to volunteer for the NHS and we would urge you all to do the same if you can. Click here for more details on how to volunteer: www.goodsamapp.org/nhs
So please, join us all today at 8pm today and make some noise out of your windows, on your balconies and in your homes to show your support for all the doctors, nurses, carers, GPs, pharmacists, other NHS staff and everyone else working so hard for us all.
We cannot thank you enough.
#clapforourcarers #clapforcarers
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SHEPHERD NEAME PLEDGES TO PROTECT JOBS FOR THE LONG TERM
Dear Friends of Shepherd Neame,
... We are today (Thursday, March 26) announcing a temporary change to our staffing structure and salary levels in light of the ongoing Covid-19 situation to protect jobs for the long term.
None of our people are being made redundant and all will remain employed by the Company in the hope that the teams will be reunited and able to resume their normal work on full pay as soon as possible.
The measures being taken today are as follows:
• We will be accessing the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (also known as ‘furlough’ measures), whereby the Government will pay 80% of the wages of those affected up to £30k per annum.
• On top of this, we will fund the wages of all those affected earning above £30k per annum so that they continue to receive 80% of their normal pay.
• All hourly paid staff in our pub estate will have their pay settled for March in full and paid on the normal date.
• We are requesting that around 85% of our people step aside from their current roles on a temporary basis. Approximately 1,300 people will be affected across the Managed Pub Estate and Head Office.
• For those staff that remain in active work, we will be asking the higher paid members of our team to support the collective effort by implementing a temporary salary reduction of between 10% and 15%. This follows last week’s announcement that Directors have volunteered to take a 20% reduction in salary.
These measures will be implemented in a phased approach in line with business demand, commencing on Sunday, March 29. The steps are being taken in the absence of any detailed information from the Government and apply for one month only at this stage until the end of April. They will be kept under regular review according to developments.
I am incredibly proud of our people, who have shown great spirit, great dedication to the Company and have been a great support to each other in these challenging times, as we all adapt our lives to support the national effort.
Our focus is to protect our people, our teams and the Company for the long term. To do this, we have to take the difficult decision today to ask members of our team to stand aside on a temporary basis whilst our operational focus is restricted to producing beer for the supermarkets.
As soon as the situation improves we will focus our efforts on resuming normal activity and look forward to welcoming our team members back at that time.
With my thanks and very best wishes,
Jonathan Neame
Shepherd Neame Chief Executive
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Despite having to temporarily close, we didn't want to waste all the fresh produce we had available. One of our longest serving chefs, Simon, spent time this weekend reaching out to the local community via the church, helping to distribute fresh produce to those in need, this included Nurses and Police who have struggled to get produce in supermarkets, elderly and many others, we are glad that we were able to help so many during this difficult time. @shepherdneame @shepsfoodteam #botanybay #foodforthought #bekind #kent #helpingothers

Mother’s Day is always a special occasion in Shepherd Neame pubs – full of flowers, family, laughter and love.
All of our teams are disappointed that due to these difficult circumstances we will miss seeing you this year. We hope that you are feeling the love and warmth of your family and that you are connected with them in whatever way you are able to at this difficult time.
At this time, as we are all self-isolating or practising social distancing, you may be interested t...o know that many of our licensees are now offering their delicious food to take away. I am lucky enough to be picking up my family meal from the award-winning Compasses Inn. Check your local Shepherd Neame pub’s Facebook page to find details of who is offering this service locally to you. We will also be creating a page on our Shepherd Neame main website next week with information of all sites who are offering this take away service so do keep a look out for that.
Happy Mother's Day to everyone celebrating today, from our family to yours. We are hopeful that we will be serving you all again very soon. Perhaps comment below if you’d like to chat to a neighbour – we know our online community will be here for you.
With my very best wishes,
Jonathan Neame
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A message from our Chief Executive, Jonathan Neame:
Dear Friends of Shepherd Neame,
In light of the Government’s announcement today, we are temporarily closing the doors of all our 320 pubs and hotels across Kent, London and the South East tonight (Friday, March 20). We will also be temporarily closing our brewery shop at 17, Court Street, Faversham and our online shop.... This crisis has been extremely worrying for our licensees, our employees and our customers however we warmly welcome the package of measures put in place by the Chancellor this evening. Although there are still details to be understood, this appears to provide a lifeline for many businesses and we fully support the collective and national effort to defeat this virus.
Circumstances have changed but our commitment to supporting the community remains as strong as ever. Shepherd Neame has been at the heart of the community for over 300 years and our fantastic employees and licensees will continue to support the community in any way they can. During this period of closure, we will relentlessly continue to look for ways that we can evolve the nature of our support. As an immediate action: • Our teams will be sending food from all of our managed sites that are temporarily closed to local food banks and to support the homeless • We are offering our hotel accommodation to the NHS to be repurposed as hospital accommodation • We are looking at ways to enhance and evolve our online communication to our database of over 200,000 customers to ensure we encourage people to stay connected • The brewery remains operational and producing beer – our beer will still be available through retail channels Within our tenanted estate, many of our licensees have already adapted their offer to fulfil a different support role and providing a much needed lifeline to their local communities, for example many are already providing a take away offer and setting up local Whats App groups to support those who are self-isolating. We encourage our licensees to continue to support the national effort to combat Covid-19 in the best way that they can within their local community. Chief Executive Jonathan Neame said: “At this stage it is impossible to know how long this unprecedented situation will last but we are working around the clock to be able to offer every support possible to our employees, licensees and our communities.
We intend to protect as many jobs as we can and support our people through this national challenge. We will be investigating the recent Government proposals and will update our teams as soon as possible.
I would like to take this opportunity personally to thank all our customers and team members for their continued support and loyalty, and hope that they and their families stay safe at this time. We look forward to serving you again as soon as we are able to.”
With my very best wishes,
Jonathan Neame Shepherd Neame Chief Executive
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Despite the ever changing times we find ourselves in at the moment, we want to reassure all our customers that we are still open, but have adjusted our open times. We are taking every precaution to keep you and our staff safe. We thank you for your support during these challenging times and look forward to welcoming you soon. Stay Safe. Daniel and all the Team @botanybayhotel #staysafe #shepherdneame #safetyfirst

A message from our Chief Executive, Jonathan Neame:
Dear Friends of Shepherd Neame,
As we face the enormous challenge of responding to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation, I would like to assure you that the safety of our customers and team members is our overriding priority.
... Yesterday’s announcement by the Government has put the hospitality industry in a very difficult position and we are seeking urgent clarification. Pubs and clubs need an immediate cash injection to provide reassurance for licensees and their communities. We are lobbying Government hard and hope for an announcement later today.
For the time being, as many of our pubs remain open as possible but we are monitoring the situation daily, and on an individual basis.
We are providing guidance for our licensees and are considering a range of measures of support which we will review in the light of any Government announcement.
In the meantime, extensive precautionary measures are being put in place in our managed pubs to protect our staff and customers.
These include the following:
· Sourcing infra red thermometers to allow monitoring of staff · Moving furniture to ensure adequate social distancing between customers · Where possible, requesting contactless card payments to minimise the handling of cash by our teams · Issuing hygiene best practice advice toolkits and supplies · Restricting numbers Our production facilities will continue but we will implement strict new controls. These include the following: · Deep cleaning production areas at the beginning and end of each shift · Providing temperature monitors for employees · Only critical supplies will be allowed on the site and all visitors will have to undergo temperature checks and can only access site through one single point
We are vigilantly monitoring the COVID-19 situation around the clock and recognise the situation is evolving rapidly.
I would like to take this opportunity personally to thank all our customers and team members for their continued support and loyalty, and hope that they and their families stay safe at this time.
We have set up a dedicated email address to enable you to get in touch with us directly if you have any concerns: comms@shepherdneame.co.uk
With my very best wishes,
Jonathan Neame Shepherd Neame Chief Executive
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Our team have spent the evening trying some of the dishes coming on our new menu later this week.... Here's a look at some of our new sweet treats #food #foodie #cheflife #cookoff #stafftraining #teamwork #foodporn #shepsfood @shepsfoodteam @shepherdneame

Have you booked for Mother’s Day yet? Just one week to go to plan to spoil your one and only. Call us on 01843868641 to book our 3 meat carvery or book a table on our website #Sundaylunch

The countdown has begun. Our brand new menu goes live on March 18th! Call to book on 01843868641

Yummy roasts being served today, this fills a hole on a Sunday afternoon! Book for next week now!

Come along to the wedding fair today and meet all these fantastic suppliers 👰 🎩

To all our customers, we would like to inform you we are due to start refurbishment works on our main bar area across the next two weeks. We will be OPEN as normal, and thank you in advance for your patience whilst the works are completed.To all our customers, we would like to inform you we are due to start refurbishment works on our main bar area across the next two weeks. We will be OPEN as normal, and thank you in advance for your patience whilst the works are completed.

Wishing Grace and Ryan a long and happy marriage. The room looked beautiful and the food went down well. #weddings #weddingday #marriage #beachwedding #seasidewedding #beachlife #porkbelly #stuffedchicken #food #foodie #shepsfood @shepsfoodteam @shepherdneame

It’s our beach 👇👇

Art comes in all forms... Our team have been working on their Latté art spiking a bit of competition to who's is the best! #latte #coffee #latteart #freshcoffee #organic #fairtrade #bewleyscoffee #beachlife #seaside #hotelwithaview @shepsfoodteam @shepherdneame