Latest news with #WillAllen
The Herald Scotland
3 days ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Sneak peek at works underway at Glasgow's Ubiquitous Chip
Closed since July 5, doors are scheduled to reopen in mid-September, with an 'enhanced visual appeal, fresh menus and extended opening hours'. PicturedL The Ubiquitous Chip on Ashton Lane is undergoing a multi-million-pound restoration project Will Allen, general manager, said: 'The Chip has always been a place full of life – and over the years, that life has left its mark. 'This restoration is about caring for an establishment that locals and visitors to Glasgow hold dear. 'We're ensuring it's ready for the decades, generations and many more memorable moments to come within its walls.' During a preview tour on Wednesday, August 13, the Herald received a sneak peek of the work underway to enhance the venue. Pictured: The Chip's new glass roof seen from the terrace (Image: Newsquest) The most significant investment in the building is a new glass roof above the main restaurant, allowing light to flood into the space below. While this has been installed, the many colourful artworks adorning the walls of The Chip have been carefully stored and protected. They will return to their places alongside several new pieces, which will not be unveiled until the reopening. Alasdair Gray artwork at the entrance way, not previously visible, has now been uncovered, with a heavy velvet curtain in place of a door also allowing for easier access and better 'flow' on the restaurant floor. There's no need to worry about the colourful fish in the koi pond, a beloved feature of the restaurant space, as the team have been keeping a close eye on them while work is carried out around their home. Pictured: The new extension at 'The Wee Pub' will be available for private dining and events (Image: Newsquest) Elsewhere, after purchasing the neighbouring William Hill betting shop, a new space has been transformed into an extension of the 'Wee Pub' area. This will offer extra seating and can also be hired for private dining and events. In a first for The Chip, the extension will also house a TV Screen while the walls will be used to showcase the work of up-and-coming Scottish artists. Pictured: A significant investment has been made in The Chip's kitchen spaces (Image: Newsquest) These aesthetic changes and renovations will be obvious to regulars upon their return. Less visible, however, will be the results of significant investment into extending the venue's kitchen areas, making them better fit for purpose. This will ensure 'everything runs smoothly' and 'help everyone to have a better time'. Pictured: The Brasserie space will remain largely unchanged (Image: Newsquest) The Brasserie area will remain largely unchanged, but with new furniture, upholstery, and a freshly polished floor. Next door, the Upstairs Bar has already been repainted, with plans to expand the number of seats available. Pictured: The Upstairs Bar has already received a fresh lick of paint (Image: Newsquest) From the roof terrace, customers will be able to take in the full effect of the building's new glass roof, which provides a clear view into the restaurant below. 'While these changes will bring fresh energy to the space, The Chip will remain instantly recognisable to those who know and love it,' Allen continued. 'We know it's important that we keep everything that makes this place special – the atmosphere, the people, the design – and give it the love and attention it deserves to enrich its journey for the future.' Although the team is delighted to talk us through the restoration works, details of new menus and other 'surprises' have been kept under wraps for now. Further updates are due to follow in the coming weeks. Read more: Ronnie Clydesdale founded the Ubiquitous Chip in 1971 with partner Ian Brydon. Both contributed £500 to the venture; Ronnie's share was his redundancy from the Black & White whisky bond, where he was a manager. Entirely self-taught, he pioneered the trend for using local, seasonal Scottish produce and was the first to put the provenance of his ingredients on the menu. Pictured: The West End venue is scheduled to reopen next month (Image: Newsquest) The restaurant was initially located in Ruthven Lane before moving to Ashton Lane in 1976. It has welcomed many famous diners and even served Princess Margaret lunch and Mick Jagger dinner on the same day. Other famous faces include Michael Keaton, Billy Connolly, Kylie Minogue, Keira Knightley and Lewis Capaldi. In 2022, it was bought over by the Metropolitan Pub Company, a subsidiary of Suffolk-based firm Greene King.
Glasgow Times
09-07-2025
- Business
- Glasgow Times
The Chip launches hiring drive ahead of major renovation
The Ubiquitous Chip, affectionately known as The Chip, is hiring 20 new members of staff to join its team at the much-loved Ashton Lane venue. The overhaul has been designed to preserve the distinctive character of The Chip while giving it the attention it needs after more than 50 years of serving Glasgow. Will Allen (Image: Supplied) The restaurant will undergo a refresh of the main and mezzanine dining areas, an extension and upgrade of the kitchens, and the introduction of a seven-day service across the restaurant and bars. To support the new era in The Chip's 53-year history, the team will prioritise beefing up the kitchen staff. Read more: Celtic transfer target Balikwisha absent from Antwerp training This includes new sous chefs, chef de partie, and commis chefs, with recruitment focused on supporting creativity and consistency in the venue's numerous dining areas. Several front-of-house staff will also be hired, including a new bar manager. The bar manager will be in charge of all three bars and will aid the transition to full seven-day service. They will also oversee the Wee Bar expansion, which will see a new speakeasy-style area created, providing guests with a more intimate social setting. For more information, go here Will Allen, the general manager, said: "The kitchen is the engine room of The Chip. "We're working hard to make sure the new layout supports quality, creativity, efficiency and the kind of environment chefs and front of house staff want to work in. "This is a great opportunity to be part of a team that blends legacy with ambition. "There aren't many kitchens like it in Glasgow." Head chef Doug Lindsay, who has led the kitchen for more than 20 years, has played a key role in shaping the new spaces to meet the demands of a busy service while maintaining the venue's signature standards. The restoration has been carefully planned to preserve the unique character of The Chip while modernising its facilities. All existing staff—around 40 people—have been retained and will be temporarily redeployed to sister venues during the closure. The Ubiquitous Chip has earned two AA Rosettes and an AA Notable Wine List Award.
WIRED
01-07-2025
- Business
- WIRED
Cloudflare Is Blocking AI Crawlers by Default
Jul 1, 2025 6:00 AM The age of the AI scraping free-for-all may be coming to an end. At least if Cloudflare gets its way. Photograph:Last year, internet infrastructure firm Cloudflare launched tools enabling its customers to block AI scrapers. Today the company has taken its fight against permissionless scraping several steps further. It has switched to blocking AI crawlers by default for its customers and is moving forward with a Pay Per Crawl program that lets customers charge AI companies to scrape their websites. Web crawlers have trawled the internet for information for decades. Without them, people would lose vitally important online tools, from Google Search to the Internet Archive's invaluable digital preservation work. But the AI boom has produced a corresponding boomlet in AI-focused web crawlers, and these bots scrape web pages with a frequency that can mimic a DDoS attack, straining servers and knocking websites offline. Even when websites can handle the heightened activity, many do not want AI crawlers scraping their content, especially news publications that are demanding AI companies to pay to use their work. 'We've been feverishly trying to protect ourselves,' says Danielle Coffey, the president and CEO of the trade group News Media Alliance, which represents several thousand North American outlets. So far, Cloudflare's head of AI control, privacy, and media products, Will Allen, tells WIRED, over 1 million customer websites have activated its older AI-bot-blocking tools. Now millions more will have the option of keeping bot blocking as their default. Cloudflare also says it can identify even 'shadow' scrapers that are not publicized by AI companies. The company noted that it uses a proprietary combination of behavioral analysis, fingerprinting, and machine learning to classify and separate AI bots from 'good' bots. A widely used web standard called the Robots Exclusion Protocol, often implemented through a file, helps publishers block bots on a case-by-case basis, but following it is not legally required, and there's plenty of evidence that some AI companies try to evade efforts to block their scrapers. ' is ignored,' Coffey says. According to a report from the content licensing platform Tollbit, which offers its own marketplace for publishers to negotiate with AI companies over bot access, AI scraping is still on the rise—including scraping that ignores Tollbit found that over 26 million scrapes ignored the protocol in March 2025 alone. In this context, Cloudflare's shift to blocking by default could prove a significant roadblock to surreptitious scrapers and could give publishers more leverage to negotiate, whether through the Pay Per Crawl program or otherwise. 'This could dramatically change the power dynamic. Up to this point, AI companies have not needed to pay to license content, because they've known that they can just take it without consequences,' says Atlantic CEO (and former WIRED editor in chief) Nicholas Thompson. 'Now they'll have to negotiate, and it will become a competitive advantage for the AI companies that can strike more and better deals with more and better publishers.' AI startup ProRata, which operates the AI search engine has agreed to participate in the Pay Per Crawl program, according to CEO and founder Bill Gross. 'We firmly believe that all content creators and publishers should be compensated when their content is used in AI answers,' Gross says. Of course, it remains to be seen whether the big players in the AI space will participate in a program like Pay Per Crawl, which is in beta. (Cloudflare declined to name current participants.) Companies like OpenAI have struck licensing deals with a variety of publishing partners, including WIRED parent company Condé Nast, but specific details of these agreements have not been disclosed, including whether the agreement covers bot access. Meanwhile, there's an entire online ecosystem of tutorials about how to evade Cloudflare's bot blocking tools aimed at web scrapers. As the blocking default rolls out, it's likely these efforts will continue. Cloudflare emphasizes that customers who do want to let the robots scrape unimpeded will be able to turn off the blocking setting. 'All blocking is fully optional and at the discretion of each individual user,' Allen says.
The Herald Scotland
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
The Ubiquitous Chip in Glasgow to close for 'some TLC'
For the work, The Chip - as it is affectionately known - will close for around 60 days from the Saturday, July 5. The doors are scheduled to reopen in mid-September, with an enhanced visual appeal, fresh menus and extended opening hours. Will Allen, general manager at The Chip, said: 'The Chip has always been a place full of life – and over the years, that life has left its mark. This restoration is about caring for an establishment that locals and visitors to Glasgow hold dear. 'We're ensuring it's ready for the decades, generations and many more memorable moments to come within its walls. READ MORE: 'While these changes will bring fresh energy to the space, The Chip will remain instantly recognisable to those who know and love it. 'We know it's important that we keep everything that makes this place special – the atmosphere, the people, the design – and give it the love and attention it deserves to enrich its journey for the future.' Ronnie Clydesdale founded the Ubiquitous Chip in 1971 with partner Ian Brydon. Both contributed £500 to the venture; Ronnie's share was his redundancy from the Black & White whisky bond where he was a manager. Entirely self-taught, he pioneered the trend for using local, seasonal Scottish produce and was first to put the provenance of his ingredients on the menu. The restaurant was initially located in Ruthven Lane before moving to Ashton Lane in 1976. It has welcomed many famous diners and even served Princess Margaret lunch and Mick Jagger dinner on the same day. Other famous faces include Michael Keaton, Billy Connolly, Kylie Minogue, Keira Knightley and Lewis Capaldi. In 2022, it was bought over by the Metropolitan Pub Company, a subsidiary of Suffolk-based firm Greene King.
Scottish Sun
23-06-2025
- Business
- Scottish Sun
Iconic Glasgow bar & restaurant to close for summer as major expansion planned
The eatery, a fixture in Ashton Lane since 1971, will be shut to customers for around 60 days 'FRESH ENERGY' Iconic Glasgow bar & restaurant to close for summer as major expansion planned Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A POPULAR Glasgow restaurant is set to close soon for the summer amid plans for a major revamp. Ubiquitous Chip in the city's west end is due to undergo a multi-million pound renovation. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 Ubiquitous Chip in Glasgow is set to close for a major renovation Credit: Alamy 2 The Ashton Lane restaurant has been a fixture in the city's west end for over 50 years Credit: Alamy The eatery, a fixture in Ashton Lane since 1971, will be shut to customers for around 60 days. Ubiquitous Chip, known as 'The Chip', will stop serving after the evening of July 5. The historic establishment's main dining areas will be refurbished and the features, including murals by the late artist and author Alasdair Gray, will be preserved. The kitchens on both floors will be extended and upgraded, with new plush seating installed and the addition of soft furnishing to "enrich the botanical theme". The works will also see the expansion of the restaurant's Wee Bar into the neighbouring building, formerly a bookies. New lighting will be installed in the courtyard and the restaurant. Bosses have said the works "will preserve the building's unique character and legacy, while refreshing and restoring the spaces that have hosted countless first dates, wedding celebrations, family gatherings and unforgettable dinners over the last 53 years". Around 20 new jobs will be created ahead of the big reopening to support the move to seven-day service. The restaurant will reopen from mid-September with a refreshed interior, new menus, and extended opening hours. Ubiquitous Chip general manager, Will Allen, said: 'The Chip has always been a place full of life – and over the years, that life has left its mark. 6 ways to get the biggest bargains in B&M "This restoration is about caring for an establishment that locals and visitors to Glasgow hold dear. "We're ensuring it's ready for the decades, generations and many more memorable moments to come within its walls. 'While these changes will bring fresh energy to the space, The Chip will remain instantly recognisable to those who know and love it. "We know it's important that we keep everything that makes this place special – the atmosphere, the people, the design – and give it the love and attention it deserves to enrich its journey for the future.' Ubiquitous Chip was founded by Ronnie Clydesdale in 1971 to celebrate the best of Scottish produce. It originally opened on Ruthven Lane, before relocating to Ashton Lane. Over the decades, it has become a firm favourite in Glasgow's rich food scene. Mr Allen added: 'You can see and feel how well-loved The Chip is – it's in the walls, the floors, the regulars and the stories people share. "The enhancements have been curated to celebrate and preserve the history of the venue and the millions of memories that have been made here, whilst also investing in its future." Before the doors close for the summer, on June 29 there will be a rooftop margarita party with live tunes from Shaka Loves You. On July 3, there will be live music from the Campbells Boys in the Big Pub, with drams from Jura Whisky.
