The Alchemist has confirmed plans for a second bar and restaurant opening in Birmingham in the summer. It is spending £1.4m on a refit of a 6,300 square feet unit on Brindleyplace that was previously run by Le Monde restaurant. The Alchemist first launched in Birmingham in Colmore Row in 2016. Felix Crosse, head of bars at The Alchemist, said: ”The opportunity at Brindleyplace will allow us to delve into the late night space in Birmingham and offer something a little different… It will be a great foil to our much loved Colmore Row venue which continues to thrive in the heart of the city.”
Red’s True Barbecue launched a long-term residency at the BrewDog bar in Leicester this week. It follows a similar tie-up in Leeds. Red’s co-founder James Douglas said: “Since the dawn of time, beer and BBQ have been one of life’s greatest combinations, so taking the UK’s best BBQ and serving it alongside one of the world’s most high profile craft brewers felt like a very natural decision to make.”
Whitbread is to open its Bar + Block restaurant concept in Belfast in late April, in the same week it launches the brand in Bristol. The openings will take Bar + Block to ten restaurants.
Rosa’s Thai Café opened at the Britannia Pavilion at Royal Albert Dock in Liverpool on Monday (25 February)—its first new opening outside of London.
Loungers has submitted plans to launch a Lounge bar in Buxton. It wants to open in an old retail unit in the town.
Mitchells & Butlers is to open an All Bar One bar and restaurant on the site of its Browns brasserie on Grey Street in Newcastle, the city’s Chronicle reports. It will become the 57th All Bar One but the first in the northeast. Mitchells & Butlers has applied for permission to extend the opening hours at the site.
Nando’s will soon start work on a new restaurant at the Crown Park North shopping development in Tameside. It plans to be open there by the end of the year.
Pieminister this week opened a new operation at the kitchen of craft beer specialist the Library Bar in Chorlton.
Edinburgh-based pizza operator @pizza opened this week at the Grand Central development in Birmingham. It is a 2,000 square feet unit with 60 covers. Co-founder and CEO Rupert Lyle said: “To launch @pizza in the thriving city of Birmingham is a measure of our success. Grand Central’s prominent location as the main thoroughfare in and out the country’s second city, as well as a shopping and dining destination, made it an obvious choice for the next step in our expansion.”
JD Wetherspoon will open two new pubs in Ireland in May: the Tullow Gate in Carlow and the Silver Penny in Dublin. They will bring Wetherspoon’s total number of pubs in Ireland to seven.
Thunderbird Fried Chicken is opening a permanent restaurant in Brixton Village. The brand started out as a street food operation at Dinerama in Shoreditch and Giant Robot in Canary Wharf and has just received investment from private equity firm TriSpan.
Rockfish has submitted an application to open in Sidmouth in Devon as it continues an expansion along the south coast. It already has sites in Brixham, Dartmouth, Exeter, Exmouth, Plymouth and Torquay.
Northeast brewery Camerons is now operating in York after acquiring the Sutlers bar on Fossgate. It will be the company’s 29th managed pub.
Whitby burger restaurant Burgsy is also opening in York. The American-themed concept has taken on a site on Castlegate in the city, and will launch in April.
Five Guys will open in Peterborough later this year, local media report. It has submitted plans to launch in a unit off St John’s Square, previously occupied by Tex Mex brand Chimichanga.
Bubble tea concept Bubble Magik has opened a third site within Selfridges in London. Its other two locations are in Ealing Broadway and Intu Lakeside.
