Fuller’s has acquired a major new site in the Royal Wharf development in London’s Royal Dock. The site has two floors and an outside terrace, and will be a 10th riverside pub for Fuller’s, acting as a sister pub to the Blue Boat on Fulham Reach and the Sail Loft in Greenwich. The pub will open in 2019 as part of the £3.5bn Royal Dock regeneration project. Fuller’s chief executive Simon Emeny said: “Royal Wharf is a fantastic location in an area where we are currently under represented and our site is in prime position, on the water’s edge. It will be a great addition to our estate.”
Revere, the premium pub division of Marston’s, is to open two new venues for its fledgling cocktail bar and restaurant brand The Lost & Found. The first will be on Albion Place in Leeds in February and the second in Bristol in April. In between Revere will reopen its original Lost & Found site in Birmingham after a refurbishment. The Leeds bar will be a second in the city for the brand, which also operates in Knutsford.
The Revolution Bars group will open a Revolucion de Cuba bar and restaurant on Temple Street in Birmingham in the summer, according to local media. It will be situated in a two-floor venue within the old Birmingham Law Library
Caribbean restaurant group Turtle Bay will open in Sheffield in mid-June, the city’s Star newspaper reports. It has taken on a site on Holly Street as part of a redevelopment of the area.
Slim Chickens is the latest US-based brand to make a move into the UK with plans for a restaurant in a yet to be confirmed location in London in the spring. It has partnered with Boparan Holdings, parent of brands including Harry Ramsdens, for the move into the UK. Slim Chickens was founded in Arkansas and has around 70 restaurants around the US, plus one in Kuwait.
Adam Breeden’s Social Entertainment Venues, founder of sports bar brands including Bounce and Flight Club, has set out plans to open a crazy golf bar in the basement of 1 Poultry in the City in April. It will be called Puttshack, and more similar sites are likely to follow.
The Rushmere Shopping Centre in Craigavon in Northern Ireland has confirmed two new openings—from Nando’s and Five Guys. They should open in the third quarter of the year.
The TRG Concessions division of The Restaurant Group opened its fifth catering outlet at Aberdeen International Airport this week—the Granite City pub, previously operated by JD Wetherspoon. TRG Concessions is now the exclusive catering partner for the airport. The pub will be refurbished over the next few months, but will retain its name. TRG Concessions managing director Nick Ayerst said: “The Granite City is the perfect addition to our portfolio and our refurbishment will enhance the mix of catering available for passengers at Aberdeen International Airport.”
YO! Sushi opened a new restaurant on St Thomas’ Street in London Bridge on Wednesday (31 January). It is the first restaurant to launch in the new London Bridge station development.
Irish-themed bar group Malones is opening a third bar on Morrison Street in Edinburgh. It marks a return to the city for the brand, which has two other venues in Scotland, in Glasgow and Aberdeen.
The Ivy Collection is to open a restaurant on Verulam Road in St Albans—replacing a branch of Brasserie Blanc there.
Fast-growing craft beer pub brand Brewhouse & Kitchen is lining up an opening in Cardiff in the next few weeks—its first venue in Wales. A £550,000 refurbishment is giving the site a microbrewery and open kitchen.
Lebanese restaurant group Comptoir Libanais is to open its first site in the Midlands after signing for a 3,047 square feet unit at Grand Central in Birmingham. The 100-cover restaurant will open in March, next to Mowgli at Grand Central. Sarah Fox, head of restaurants and leisure at Hammerson, said: “The brand’s authentic offer is a unique addition that will further diversify the impressive dining line-up at Grand Central and illustrates the strength of Grand Central both as a retail and dining destination, and as a key regional travel hub.”
Build-your-own pizza and pasta restaurant group Vapiano has just opened on Buchanan Street in Glasgow.
Nusr-Et Steakhouse, a Turkey-based high-end steak restaurant, is to open a branch at the Park Tower Knightsbridge in London. Nusr-Et has restaurants in the US and UAE as well as Turkey.
Korean street food restaurant group On the Bab opens On the Dak, a chicken-based concept on Monmouth Street, this week. On the Bab has restaurants in Shoreditch, Covent Garden, Marylebone and St Paul’s.
Chinese hot pot brand Shu Xiangge has opened a second restaurant on Gerrard Street in Chinatown. It is a 2,930 square feet restaurant with 110 covers over two floors. The first Shu Xiangge opened in Holborn in 2016. The brand has been brought to the West End by Shaftesbury. Shu Xiangge founder Terry Zhao said: “Following the explosion of the hot pot trend from China, we identified a gap in the UK market for traditional Sichuanese hot pots. Chinatown London’s diverse and authentic East Asian restaurant scene was the perfect place for us to open our second restaurant.”
