BrewDog opened its first ever BrewPub, and its largest UK bar to date, in Tower Hill last weekend. It is located by Great Tower Street and Mark Lane, close to the Tower of London, and has 25 craft beers on tap.
TRG Concessions is to take over the food and beverage operations at London Southend Airport in the next few weeks. It will continue operating current concessions there, and plans to introduce new brands including Giraffe Stop, Costa Coffee and The Navigator, a custom-made pub concept. TRG will invest around £5m at the airport over the next ten years. Managing director Nick Ayerst said: “We are delighted to have taken over sites at London Southend Airport and look forward to operating and developing them into award-winning concessions over the next few years.”
Brewhouse & Kitchen is to open in Horsham in Sussex and Hoxton in London. In Horsham, it is taking on a unit that is currently run as an independent Japanese restaurant, while the Hoxton venue is an acquisition of the leasehold on the Beagle pub, next to the rail station there. The openings will take Brewhouse & Kitchen past 20 sites.
Casual Dining Group has agreed franchise deals for the food and beverage operations at the Hotel Indigo in Paddington and the Holiday Inn in Leicester. Both hotels are operated by London Town Group. CDG will run a tailored operation called London Street Brasserie at Hotel Indigo, and a Bella Italia at the Holiday Inn when it opens in June.
Vietnamese restaurant brand Pho will open its first Wales restaurant on Church Street in Cardiff in 2019, local media report.
Canadian coffee shop brand Tim Hortons is continuing its expansion into the UK by opening in Belfast on Friday (25 May).
US-style barbecue restaurant Hickorys Smokehouse is to open a site in Worcester. It is revamping the Pavilion in the Park pub in the city, with plans for 150 covers and an outside eating area. It should open towards the end of the summer. Hickory’s currently operates in Burton Green, Castle Bromwich, Chester, Rhos-on-Sea, Southport, Wall Heath and West Kirby.
The team behind tapas restaurant El Gato Negro in Manchester is opening a new Portuguese-style restaurant called Canto on Henry Street in the Ancoats area of the city. It should launch in the autumn.
Steakhouse restaurant concept Steakout is opening a new venue at a redevelopment of a large retail space in Coventry. It will be a ninth location for the brand, joining restaurants in Slough, Harrow, Leicester, Tooting, Luton, Stratford, Norbury and Southall.
The Duke of Richmond pub in Hackney is reopening on Thursday (24 May) under chef Tom Oldroyd. It will have 90 covers and an outside terrace and is offering a French take on classic pub dishes.
The Grapevine Brasserie in Mangotsfield near Bristol has reopened after a £250,000 refurbishment funded by Ei Publican Partnerships and its publican.
The Restaurant Group’s Brunning & Price division is to take on four new pubs after an acquisition from Ribble Valley Inns. They are the Three Fishes in Mitton, the Highwayman in Kirkby Lonsdale, the Clog & Billycock in Pleasington and the Bull at Broughton.
Bavarian-style beer bar concept Einstein BierHaus opened on Concert Square in Liverpool’s Ropewalks area this week. The 1,200 capacity site succeeds a Walkabout bar, which closed there late last year. The new concept has been developed by Pub Invest Group.
Marco Pierre White’s restaurant group Black & White Hospitality is to open a Steakhouse Bar & Grill in Folkestone in Kent. It will be part of the Best Western Clifton Hotel in the town.
Brakspear has reopened its managed pub the Lion at Wendlebury in Oxfordshire. It follows a refurb of the main bar and the addition of 13 bedrooms. Brakspear acquired the pub late last year.
