By Steve Dinneen This has been another torrid 12 months for the restaurant industry. Just as Covid appeared to be receding in the rearview mirror, along came rampant inflation, huge real-terms drops in wages, spiralling energy costs, rail strikes, rising rents, and yet more political and financial uncertainty – all creating a perfect shit-storm for the hospitality industry. The pipeline of new openings has therefore been a little slower than in the before-times, with restaurateurs and their financial backers concentrating on keeping their business afloat rather than expanding into treacherous …