American restaurant and bar concept Hancock’s has confirmed plans for three new openings over the next three months: in Farnborough, Fareham and Eastleigh. All the sites are sized between 3,000 and 4,000 square feet, with 150 covers. The first Hancock’s opened in Chatham in 2017, with two more sites following in Camberley and Maidstone.
Loungers plan to open a new Cosy Club bar and restaurant in Cardiff—a second in the city for the brand. It has taken on a 4,300 square feet unit at Mermaid Quay on Cardiff Bay previously occupied by Strada and will launch next summer. Loungers’ other Cosy Club in Cardiff is at the St Davids centre.
Whitbread’s steakhouse brand Bar + Block has lined up two more sites as it continues its rollout: in Wimbledon and Reading. They will launch early next year, with openings scheduled in the meantime for Aldgate and Leamington Spa. All are situated alongside Premier Inn hotels. Bar + Block already operates in Birmingham, King’s Cross, Bath, Nottingham and the Whiteley centre.
Marston’s opened its latest new-build pub and restaurant on Monday 24 September: the Sun Verge in Rhyl. It has 150 covers with a carvery station and children’s play areas. It is part of a regeneration of Rhyl’s waterfront that has also seen the building of a Travelodge hotel.
JD Wetherspoon opens its major new pub at St Pancras International station on Monday 1 October. The launch of the Barrel Vault follows a £2m spend.
The Northern Monk Brew Co opens its second tap room on Tariff Street in Manchester’s Northern Quarter this Saturday 29 September. The two-floor Northern Monk Refectory venue will have 20 keg and cask lines and a small plates food menu. The company launched its first tap room in its home city of Leeds four years ago.
Boxpark has set 1 October for the opening of its latest shipping container collective at Wembley. It has also named seven new additions to the line-up: Zia Lucia, Ugly Dumpling, The Athenian, Thai Express, Kabab, Spice Shack and GialloGrano. It will be a third location for Zia Lucia and a second for Ugly Dumpling, while The Athenian and Thai Express already operate at other Boxparks.
The Inception Group will soon open Mrs Fogg’s Maritime Club and Distillery in Broadgate Circle in the City. It is inspired by the character of Aouda Fogg in Jules Verne’s classic novel Around the World in Eighty Days and is modelled on a vintage steamer ship. It will have an in-house gin distillery and masterclasses and serve Indian food as well as cocktails. Inception also operates several venues under the Mr Fogg’s brand in London, but this will be the biggest Fogg’s site yet.
Upmarket fried chicken and cocktail bar concept Chick ‘n’ Sours officially launched on Upper Street in Islington on Thursday 27 September. It is the third site for the brand, after Seven Dials and Haggerston.
Miller & Carter is opening within the Marriott hotel on College Green in Bristol in late November. It will cater for hotel guests for breakfast, afternoon tea and in-room dining as well as running its usual steakhouse operations. It is a second site in Bristol for Miller & Carter, which also operates at Cribbs Causeway.
Brunning & Price has opened its first pub with rooms: the Arrow Mill in Alcester in Warwickshire. Brunning & Price has also just reopened the Highwayman in Kirkby Lonsdale, having acquired it from Ribble Valley Inns. A second acquisition, the Clog & Billycock near Blackburn, to follow next Saturday 6 October.
South-west burger restaurant group Hubbox is opening its latest new restaurant in Taunton next Friday 5 October. It is a seventh site for the brand, which also operates in Bristol, Exeter, Pentewan, Plymouth, St Ives and Truro.
Five Guys will open a new restaurant on Market Street in Cambridge next year, according to local media. It already operates in the city at Cambridge Leisure Park.
A new grab and go operation called The Chuckling Cheese Company has opened on Eat Street within the Frenchgate shopping centre in Doncaster.
The team behind Kingly Court kebab concept Le Bab has opened a second restaurant, Maison Bab, at Mercer Walk in Covent Garden. The 3,200 square feet corner unit has space for 45 covers at ground level and 30 more in the basement and sits opposite Temper. Simon Taylor, property director at The Mercers’ Company said: “Maison Bab is a truly fantastic addition to the Mercers’ Estate.” Le Bab founder Stephen Tozer said: “We love Le Bab, and wouldn’t change it for the world. But at Maison Bab we’ll be offering something punchier, bolder, and more surprising. We’ve been developing this concept for almost two years now, so we’re incredibly excited to unveil what we’ve been working on.”
Vegan kebab brand What the Pitta is to open a fourth site, and a first outside London, on East Street in Brighton before the end of the year. The brand’s three other sites are in Camden, Shoreditch and Croydon, having started out as a street food venture.
Dessert restaurant Creams is opening a new site in Cheltenham’s Brewery Quarter in the next few weeks.
Filipino ice cream parlour concept Mamasons Dirty Ice Cream has opened a second site in Newport Court in London’s Chinatown. Julia Wilkinson, head of group restaurant strategy at Shaftesbury, said: “It is very exciting to welcome Mamasons Dirty Ice Cream to Chinatown London, and judging by the queue, it’s fantastic to see how popular the launch was and the buzz it has already created in this newly developed part of Chinatown London.” The first Mamasons is in Kentish Town.
