Honest Burgers has acquired a second site in Soho, on Brewer Street near Piccadilly station. The 2,000 square feet space covers basement and ground floor levels, with space for 80 covers. The site was secured for Honest Burgers by Shelley Sandzer.
New World Trading Company has submitted plans to open a branch of its Botanist bar and restaurant brand in the Octagon hall at Milsom Place in Bath, local media report. It would be a first opening in the west country for the Botanist, which has 15 sites elsewhere in the UK. The unit NWTC wants to move into has been empty for more than a year.
Drake & Morgan has set 2 July for the opening of its new Anthologist bar and restaurant at One St Peter’s Square in Manchester. It is a second venue in the city for Drake & Morgan, following the Refinery in Spinningfields. The new site has 180 covers over 6,000 square feet.
JD Wetherspoon is to open the Barrel Vault, a new pub at St Pancras International station, in the autumn. It will be part of a major refurbishment at the station. Meanwhile, Wetherspoon opens in Liskeard in Cornwall on 19 June. The launch of the King Doniert follows a £3m refurbishment of an old petrol station and forecourt.
Hunky Dory Pubs, the joint venture between Oakman Inns and Ei’s Managed Expert division, has opened the Four Alls in Welford-on-Avon near Stratford-upon-Avon. It follows a £1.9m spend on a major refurbishment that has left the pub with an 80-cover restaurant, open kitchen, terrace and enlarged car park as well as bar area. It is Oakman Inns’ 22nd venue. CEO Peter Borg-Neal said: “Every pub we design and open has to be 100% better than the pub it replaces and make a valuable contribution to the community. Fortunately, our year-end figures released last week suggest we’re getting it right.”
Albion & East, the all-day bar, bakery and restaurant venture backed by the Imbiba Partnership, has acquired a third site, in the Tower building at the Bower on Old Street in London. It will join brands including Bone Daddies, Honest Burgers and Draft House at the development, and is due to launch in early 2019. Albion & East already operates Martello Hall in Hackney and Canova Hall in Brixton.
Sri Lankan street food brand The Coconut Tree has signed for an opening in Bristol, to join sites in Cheltenham and Oxford. It is seeking more opportunities elsewhere in the UK with the help of Fleurets.
BrewDog has just opened a bar on Essex Road in Islington. It has a capacity of 100, and becomes BrewDog’s fifth new opening of the year.
Mexican brand Benito’s Hat opens at the Highcross shopping centre in Leicester this week. It is the eighth location for the operator, and a second outside London, following an Oxford launch.
Charles Wells has opened the Oxford Blue, a new branch of its Pizza, Pots and Pints pub concept, on Marston Street in Oxford. It follows a major refurbishment of the 2,200 square feet pub, owned by the Ei group. It is the sixth venue under the Pizza, Pots and Pints format, and Charles Wells plans to increase the number to 25 over the next three years.
Vegan fast food chain By Chloe will open its second London location at the One Tower Bridge development on Tuesday (12 June). The first By Chloe in the capital is in Covent Garden. The US-based brand wants to open many more restaurants here as the trend for vegan food gathers momentum.
Indian street food brand Mowgli is opening at the University Green development in Manchester later this year. Friska has also just signed up for an opening, joining brands already confirmed for University Green including Five Guys, Pret and Takk.
Online retailer Casa Argentina is to open a new restaurant, shop and deli in Wimbledon in the next few weeks. It will be on Arthur Road there.
Marston’s will open the Iron Forge pub in Scunthorpe in July, local media report.
Loungers has submitted an application to launch a branch of its Cosy Club brand in Norwich. It wants to adapt an old bank building on London Street in the city.
The Ivy will open a brasserie restaurant on Dawson Street in Dublin next month as it continues its rapid brand rollout, the Irish Times reports. It will be open from 7am to 11pm every day, with 150 covers including separate bar, terrace and private dining spaces.
The Titanic Brewery in Staffordshire is expanding its Bod café and bar format with two new sites: in a unit on Stoke-on-Trent station and an old bank building in Trentham. Titanic created the Bod concept for an old retail unit in Stafford earlier this year. It also runs seven pubs in the area.
Leon began a move into the Scandinavian market with an opening at Oslo’s central station in Norway this week. It is under a partnership with UMOE Restaurants. As well as the permanent site, it is operating a food truck venture in the city over the summer.
