BrewDog has announced plans to open beer-themed hotels and bars in Manchester and Edinburgh. The Manchester opening will be at the new Bloc development on Fountain Street in June, with the hotel on Market Street in Edinburgh’s Old Town following by the end of the year.
US burger brand Wendy’s has secured sites in Reading, Oxford and Stratford as it begins a return to the UK market, 20 years after it closed its last sites here. It has ambitions to open around 20 restaurants in the UK over the next few years.
Korean fried chicken brand Pelicana opened its first UK restaurant this week, at Hammersmith Broadway shopping centre. More London openings are planned, including in Angel in June, Wimbledon in July and Clapham in September. The UK rollout is being steered by Dong Hyun Kim, founder of Wasabi.
Street food collective KERB is launching markets by the National Theatre on South Bank and the Skylight development at Tobacco Dock in Wapping. The National Theatre operation is hosting five food trucks and a bar from Thursdays to Sundays until the end of the summer, while the Tobacco Dock operation will start in May.
The Brew By Numbers brewery is opening a third London brewery and pub at Morden Wharf in Greenwich. It will have 6,000 square feet of refurbished warehouse space, including a large outside area, and joins Brew By Numbers taprooms in Peckham and Bermondsey.
Scotland-based pizza concept Mozza is to move into England with a unit at White Rose in Leeds. The 2,300 square feet site will launch in the summer.
American chicken wing concept Wingstop has lined up openings in Birmingham, Bristol, Canary Wharf, Kingston-upon Thames and Reading as part of a UK rollout with franchise partner Lemon Pepper Holdings.
South East Asian brasserie and bar concept Mamasan is opening at Liverpool ONE. It has signed for a 6,875 square feet site there, with 200 covers. It is a second restaurant for Mamasan after the success of its first in Glasgow. It was created by Brad Stevens, who launched venues including Bar Soba and Pizza Punks.
Mexican brand Chipotle has submitted plans to open on Chiswick High Road in London this summer. It intends to take over a site previously occupied by Byron.
Steak concept Flat Iron is to open a new restaurant on Clink Street in London, taking over a unit previously occupied by Gourmet Burger Kitchen.
Roast chicken concept Sidechick will open its first Central London restaurant in May. The deal for a 1,200 square feet unit with 50 covers inside on James Street was brokered by Shelley Sandzer. Sidechick launched as a delivery-only brand during lockdown, under Patty & Bun founder Joe Grossman. The James Street location is next door to Patty & Bun.
US fried chicken restaurant group Popeyes is launching into the UK under franchise, starting with a site in London this year. It says there is scope to open at least 350 restaurants in the UK in due course.
The Adventure Bar Group is opening a major new outdoor street food and bar venue in Birmingham called Luna Springs. It is based in the former Digbeth Arena site and will gradually expand the space with food, drink and events offering, up to a potential capacity of 2,500 people.
Rudy’s Neapolitan Pizza will shortly open in Stockton Heath in Cheshire. Rudy’s was founded in Manchester in 2015 and now has three restaurants there, as well as sites in Liverpool, Leeds and Birmingham.
The Shoot the Bull group has opened a food hall concept in Harrogate. Solita Food Hall is a two-floor space with a terrace in a unit previously occupied by Wagyu Bar & Grill.
Gordon Ramsay’s Street Burger has leased a 2,070 square feet unit on Charing Cross Road, in a space previously occupied by Byron. Ramsay’s brand launched in St Paul’s last year, and has also just signed for a unit at Battersea Power Station. Shelley Sandzer represented the landlord in the Charing Cross Road deal.
Vegan pizzeria Purezza will open a new restaurant in Manchester’s Northern Quarter in May. Purezza’s other UK sites are in Bristol, Brixton, Camden and Hove.
JD Wetherspoon has announced plans to open 18 new pubs in a £145m investment project. Places identified for openings and extensions to existing pubs include Leeds, Birmingham, Glasgow, Newport Pagnell, Heswall, Sheffield, Felixstowe, Dublin, Haverfordwest and Carmarthen.
Coventry’s first permanent street food venue, Factory in FarGo Village, will open in mid-May. It will host various street food and drink operators with an open plan dining area with space for 340 people, and will be housed in Coventry’s Creative Quarter. FarGo has previously hosted residencies from street food businesses but now wants to establish a permanent operation.
Loungers has been named as an anchor tenant at a new development in Colchester. The Romano Lounge will be in an old retail unit as part of a scheme that will have residential as well as retail space.
