Living Ventures’ The Alchemist is to continue an expansion into the London market with plans to open two new restaurants and bars in the capital: on St Martin’s Lane in Covent Garden in November and on Old Street in the spring. It is also refurbishing its venue in Bevis Marks this summer.
All-day British restaurant and cocktail bar Jones & Sons has opened a second site at the Angel Central Shopping Centre in Islington. It has 94 covers over a 2,110 square feet space, including an outdoor terrace. The first Jones & Sons is in Dalston. Founder Andy Jones said: “After being on back streets and hidden away for five years, having a site right in the heart of Angel was an opportunity that I couldn’t turn down.”
The ETM Group is to join the operators launching at the redeveloped London Bridget station next year. It has revealed plans for a bar, restaurant and sports lounge called Redwood, which will be spread over two floors and an outdoor terrace. ETM already has a similar concept at the Nova development in Victoria. Co-founder Ed Martin said: “We’re hugely excited to be bringing Redwood to London Bridget and being part of the exciting redevelopment of one of London’s busiest stations.” The new London Bridget station will have around 70 retail units over 92,000 square feet of space.
Cora Pearl, a new restaurant from the team behind Kitty Fisher’s, will open on Henrietta Street in Covent Garden on 10 July. It is a British-French restaurant that is named after a 19th century courtesan who lived in Covent Garden.
Street food collective Kerb is to open its biggest venue yet at Katharine’s Docks, It will run every Thursday and Friday from 6 July, hosting 18 traders including Taco Dave, Fundi Pizza, Mother Clucker and Bapitta, plus a bar.
The Manchester Airports Group to launch Proof, a new food-led bar concept at East Midlands airport shortly, before taking it to Manchester and Stansted airports too. The bars will be run by the group’s in-house team, which already operates various lounges at UK airports.
The Bar Soba group is reopening in Leeds city centre in July. The site will be on Greek Street, and follows the closure of a bar on Merrion Street. Bar Soba also operates five other bars and restaurants in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Derby.
All-day healthy eating restaurant concept Farmer J is opening a second site on King William Street in the City in August. Its first location is on Leadenhall.
Bristol pizza operator Pizzarova will open a third restaurant in the city on Park Street on Tuesday (26 June). The concept started out as a mobile operator, and now has sites on Gloucester Road and Wapping Wharf.
Cheshire-based Italian restaurant group Cibo is to open a third site in Hale. It has taken on the lease of a former Carluccio’s restaurant. Cibo already operates in Wilmslow and Disley.
JD Wetherspoon opened the King Doniert pub in Liskeard in Cornwall on Tuesday (19 June).
Novus has reopened The Sterling, its bar and restaurant in the Gherkin in London, after a £200,000 refurbishment.
A new laksa restaurant called Sambal Shiok has launched on Holloway Road in Highbury. It previously ran as a mobile operation in London markets.
Fuller’s has reopened the Distillers pub in Hammersmith after a refurbishment. It has become a ‘Frontier Hero’ site, with its Frontier lager served straight from tanks. The pub also now has a new back bar and refurbished garden.
Wagamama has opened its first restaurant in Norway—a 220-cover unit at Oslo Airport.
