Leon has agreed a partnership for new openings with motorway service station network Roadchef. The first result of the deal will be openings at Roadchef’s Norton Canes and Strensham South services on the M6 and M5 respectively. Roadchef CEO Simon Turi said: “We scoured the market for a brand that would complement our existing offering and Leon, with its impressive naturally fast food credentials, stood out… our two companies share a people focused culture and we are confident that our customers will be impressed with what Leon have to offer.”
Leon managing director John Upton said: “We have always said we want Leon to be where it was most needed—either on the high street or easy to find when you’re out and about. This new partnership with Roadchef will help us provide fun, fast, fresh Leon food to the millions of people who use our motorways every day.”
Neil Rankin is opening a second branch of his open-fire Temper restaurant concept on Angel Court in the City. It will have a focus on curries, plus a range of around 20 gins. It is due to soft launch from 24 July. The original Temper is on Broadwick Street in Soho.
JKS Restaurants will open a second branch of its Indian and Sri Lankan street food concept Hoppers on St Christopher’s Place in Marylebone in the autumn. It joins the original Hoppers on Frith Street in Soho, and will be an 85-cover site, with 16 more seats on a terrace. JKS co-founder Karam Sethi said: “Following the success of the first Hoppers in Soho back in 2015, an increase in travel to Sri Lanka and subsequently the popularity of the country’s food and culture in the capital, opening a second, larger Hoppers site seemed like a natural step. We’re thrilled to expose even more Londoners to the bold flavours of Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu.”
The Azzurri group has opened a second branch of its Radio Alice concept—an 80-cover restaurant on Venn Street in Clapham. The original Radio Alice is in Hoxton.
Hony Capital, the Chinese investors behind Pizza Express, is to bring its Beijing Hehegu fast food chain to London, Reuters reports. Locations have yet to be announced.
JD Wetherspoon is investing 15 million Euros in a new pub and 98-room hotel in Dublin—its biggest ever site investment. Work will start early next year, with the pub due to launch in early 2019. The pub is currently a row of derelict properties in Dublin’s Camden Street, and will be renovated over two floors and a beer garden. Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin said: “We are looking forward to developing the site into a fantastic pub and hotel. It will be the biggest single investment undertaken by Wetherspoon and will result in our largest hotel alongside a superb pub.”
Brunning & Price has submitted an application to open in Cheltenham, having acquired a unit formerly run by Jamie’s Italian.
Five Guys has completed the opening of its latest new restaurants at the Liverpool One centre. It is a 5,000 square feet unit with 175 covers.
Build-your-own pizza concept Vapiano has joined the line-up at the South St Andrew Square development in Edinburgh. It is Vapiano’s first opening in Scotland, and will launch in October. Other brands previously confirmed for South St Andrew Square include Busaba Eathai, Dishoom and Drake & Morgan.
Turtle Bay will open its new restaurant on Castle Square in Swansea in early September, local media report. The brand has also just opened in Peterborough.
St Austell Brewery has opened a new fish and chip shop operation within its Havener’s bar and grill in Fowey in Cornwall. It is cooking with batter made with one of its beers.
The Ivy is continuing its rollout of various brand extensions with a brasserie and grill opening on Temple Row in Birmingham. The Birmingham Mail reports that it has taken on 7,000 square feet of space in two former retail units, and will open in early 2018.
Mitchells & Butlers steakhouse operation Miller & Carter opened in Swindon last Friday (23 June). It follows a conversion of M&B’s Harvester restaurant there, continuing a rollout of the Miller & Carter brand.
Lebanese street food concept Bakchich is opening a third restaurant, on Williamson Square in Liverpool. The first Bakchich grew out of a mobile operation in Liverpool and is on Bold Street, and there is a second site on Chester Street in Manchester.
Oakman Inns has submitted plans to open in Ascot. It has taken on an old hotel once run by Whitbread as a Premier Inn and Beefeater.
Japanese poké café concept Tombo is opening a third restaurant on Windmill Street in Fitzrovia in the next few weeks. Its first two sites are in South Kensington and D’Arblay Street in Soho.
All-day café group Boston Tea Party will open its 21st site in Solihull in October, according to local media. It continues a push into the Midlands following an opening in Stratford-upon-Avon and an imminent launch in the Edgbaston suburb of Birmingham.
Celebrity chef Gino D’Acampo opened his latest Gino D’Acampo My Restaurant venture on Parliament Street in Harrogate on Thursday (29 June). It is a 150-cover restaurant over two floors, with an open kitchen, deli bar, private room, games room and roof terrace.
Gabeto, a new all-day casual and formal dining restaurant and bar, will open at Camden Market on Chalk Farm Road next Thursday (6 July). It follow a conversion of a two-floor stable block into a space that includes restaurant, bar and daytime workspace, as well as an outdoor terrace that will host a changing line-up of street food operators.
A new fish and chip shop concept called Hook and Line is opening at the Arena Quarter of the Merrion Centre in Leeds.
Manchester-based Changos Burritos has just opened a second location on Dale Street in Liverpool.
US-based Tex Mex concept Taco Bell is continuing a push into the UK with an opening on Dartford High Street. It has taken a unit previously occupied by KFC, which is moving elsewhere in Dartford. The opening will be the 18th Taco Bell in the UK.
24-hour restaurant and bar concept VQ will open at the Dorsett City Hotel in Aldgate on Sunday (2 July). VQ already operates in Chelsea, Bloomsbury and Notting Hill, and will have a 24-hour breakfast menu in a 60-cover restaurant and 30-cover bar.
