The Jersey Hospitality Association (JHA) has appointed Simon Soar as the organisation’s new Association Manager. With over 16 years’ managing bars and restaurants in the Channel Islands, and working in brand management with JJ Le Sueur, Simon is a well-known face in hospitality. Simon, who also runs Bar Technics, a bar events and training company, takes on the full-time role after a busy year helping open two new Jersey venues: Cheffins and The Cow & Lobster. He said: “Jersey hospitality and tourism has changed dramatically over the past 10 years. During the recession people began going out less, and this trend has continued. Restaurants and bars have to compete with each other, and with other forms of entertainment, for people’s time and resources. My aim is to continue to help bringing the JHA forward so it can meet the demands of the industry, making it more resilient to the changes it faces’. Last year the JHA celebrated its 60th anniversary, a milestone that highlighted how much the industry, and indeed, Jersey has changed over the past few decades.
