MEATliquor has signed for a new restaurant at No 6 St Chad’s Place near King’s Cross station. The 1,800 square feet and 90-cover unit will open in the summer, and becomes MEATliquor’s eighth location in London and 11th in all. Shelley Sandzer advised on the deal, and its joint managing partner Nick Weir said: “This wonderful, historic building is absolutely perfect for MEATliquor and we are thrilled to utilise our expert knowledge in securing it for them. Kings Cross is a buzzing location that benefits from both a busy station and a growing office population, as well as its reputation as a trendy area to live in. There is no doubt that the brand will continue to thrive in this new location and appeal to visitors and residents in the area.”
Five Guys has applied for permission to open on Magdalen Street in Oxford. It has submitted for a change of use on a retail unit there. The brand is also opening on Chelmsford high street later in the year, local media report—its third restaurant in Essex.
The Seafood Pub Company is to open a pub restaurant in Addingham in west Yorkshire. It is a second location in the county for the group as it continues to expand beyond its home country of Lancashire, where it has ten sites. The Addingham venue will open in May, followed by the Red Lion in Harrogate later in the summer.
Darts bar concept Flight Club this week opens its second venue, on New Oxford Street. It joins the original Flight Club in Shoreditch.
The New World Trading Company has just opened the latest branch of its Botanist brand in Didsbury. It is operating on a site previously run by JD Wetherspoon. It is the 12th site for the Botanist.
American barbeque concept Red Dog Saloon will open on Bold Street in Liverpool in the next few weeks. It has taken on a unit previously run as Republik nightclub. The brand already has operations in Hoxton Square, Clapham and Soho, and beyond London in Nottingham and Southampton.
Unique Hospitality Management launches a new steak and fish concept at the Wheatsheaf Pub and Grill in Bow Brickhill near Milton Keynes on 27 April. It is its sixth pub in all, and its fourth in its Heroic Pubs leased division, along two freeholds in an Epic Pubs division. The group plans to open another two sites this year, and to have 15 by 2019. Managing director Andrew Coath said: “We are really excited about the new concept we will be offering at The Wheatsheaf Pub & Grill. Realistically there are a limited number of opportunities for us with pub companies for the size of sites we need to deliver our current successful food and drink offers, so this grill concept which works on a smaller footprint opens up new site opportunities to us as we look to expand further.”
JD Wetherspoon has just opened the Swan and Angel in St Ives in Cambridgeshire. It will open from 8am every day, and will join the few Wetherspoon pubs selling pizza.
Stonegate Pub Company has opened a new Slug and Lettuce bar and restaurant in Plymouth. It follows a revamp of a Stonegate site previously run as Berkeley Bar and Grill.
Upmarket healthy fast food concept Bel-Air and speciality coffee brand Black Sheep Coffee have both signed to open at the Leadenhall building in the City. It will be Bel-Air’s third location, joining sites in Farringdon and Shoreditch, while Black Sheep has 11 sites around London. James Rayner, asset manager for the venture from British Land and Oxford Properties, said: “The iconic Leadenhall Building provides the perfect location for aspirational brands such as Black Sheep Coffee and Bel-Air. These lettings are in line with our focus on enlivening our places and are a great example of how the City is evolving from a global business hub to include high-end retail, hotels, bars and restaurants.” The developers were represented in the deals by Davis Coffer Lyons.
Franco Manca has just opened its latest new restaurant on Putney High Street.
Iceland-based better burger concept Tommi’s Burger Joint has opened a third London restaurant on Berwick Street in Soho. The first two are in Marylebone and the King’s Road.
Taco Bell has applied for permission to open in an old retail unit in Poole, according to local media. It recently launched in Southampton as it seeks to expand further into the UK under franchise.
Ei Managed Investments has launched a seventh partnership on managed pubs, with London-based PubLove, to run five sites together. It will see the reopening of two of its venues, with more openings planned in due course. PubLove converts neighbourhood pubs into hostels with BurgerCraft kitchens. Nathan Wall, operations director for Ei Managed Investments, said: “PubLove is an exciting proposition with its focus on establishing sustainable community pubs. We’re delighted to be part of its expansion and we look forward to a successful working relationship with Ben and his team.” Ei’s Publican Partnerships group has meanwhile reopened the Horse and Jockey pub in Liverpool after a £100,000 refurb.
The Brewhouse and Kitchen concept has opened in Bournemouth. The venue includes a microbrewery on the ground floor and a dining area on the first floor.
Korean concept Kimchee, part of the Wasabi group, has opened a second restaurant in London. It is on Pancras Square, joining the original Kimchee in Holborn. The new site has 170 covers over a 3,000 square feet unit.
The Bengal Brasserie Indian restaurant group has opened a fifth location in central Leeds. At 3,600 square feet it is also its largest so far.
