MOD Pizza will open its tenth restaurant in the UK in the next few weeks, at the Cathedral Lanes centre in Coventry. The US-based concept, backed in the UK by Charles Dunstone, opened its first site here in 2016, and now has restaurants in Borehamwood, Gateshead, Leicester, London, Nottingham, Romford and Watford, and two in Leeds.
US-style cocktail bar concept Near & Far has opened its third location in Camden. It is selling Mexican street food style food alongside cocktails. Near & Far, which is part of the Bar 6 group, has two other sites in Angel and Peckham, and more openings are being lined up.
Healthy on the go food and juice bar brand Crussh has opened its first location in partnership with Sodexo, at the University of London building on Northampton Square in Islington. Sodexo, which has provided catering at City for five years, plans to launch more Crussh branches at other sites. Crussh CEO Shane Kavanagh said: “We are delighted to open our first university outlet. We know the university well, and it’s really exciting to be able to introduce healthy, nutritious food to campus.”
The BV Restaurant Group has launched a combined restaurant and gaming hall called Rebound on Garratt Lane in Wandsworth. The 6,000 square feet site has pool and Fussball tables and shuffleboards and replaces BV’s PizzaStorm restaurant. PizzaStorm continues to operate in Newcastle and Nottingham.
The team behind Red Dog Saloon on Hoxton Square is opening a new fried chicken concept called Louie’s in May. It will be situated under the Red Dog Saloon restaurant, but with a separate entrance, and will specialise in spicy Nashville-style chicken. Red Dog Saloon operates in Soho, Clapham, Liverpool, Nottingham and Southampton as well as Hoxton.
TRG Concessions is opening a major new California-style all-day restaurant called Sonoma at Gatwick Airport. It has been developed with Russel Joffe, co-founder of the Giraffe group. Sonoma will have 300 covers over 6,500 square feet and will replace the Garfunkel’s and Armadillo restaurants in the airport’s north terminal. It is due to open in mid-April.
Leon will open its first Ireland site on Temple Bar in Dublin in May, and plans 20 new locations in the country over the next five years. The second Ireland opening will be in Dundrum later this year.
Tex Mex operator Tortilla has acquired a new site at The Cut by Southwark station in London. The 1,100 square feet unit will have 32 covers and will launch next Friday (29 March), adding to Tortilla’s 36 UK sites. The deal for the location was brokered by Shelley Sandzer.
Korean street food-style concept On The Bab opened on Wednesday on Archer Street in Soho. The opening follows a move from smaller premises in Marylebone to the Lee’s Mee Market run by owner Linda Lee. On The Bab has also announced an opening in Paris in May.
Marston’s has submitted plans to open a new build pub on a new estate in Bishop’s Cleeve in Gloucestershire, according to local media.
A new Portuguese bakery and café concept called Santa Nata is preparing to open two sites in central London: on Russell Street and New Row in Covent Garden. It plans to open from 10am to 8pm, and 10pm at weekends, and will specialise in Portuguese tarts.
Clothes retailer Primark is planning to open a Disney Café at its Birmingham store, according to reports. It will be Primark’s biggest store yet, and is likely to feature other food and drink concessions. A Disney Café already operates within the Harrod’s department store.
Belgravia bakery, café, bar and restaurant Peggy Porschen has just launched a second site on King’s Road in Chelsea. It comes nine years after the launch of the original Peggy Porschen. The new venue is bigger and will be open from 8am to 8pm.
Italian ice cream brand Badiani is opening on Fulham Road in London next month. Badiani started out supplying ice cream to restaurants, and this is its third standalone site, after Newington Causeway and Notting Hill Gate. Hannah Grievson, property director at Sloane Stanley, said: “Badiani is a wonderful brand to add to the existing assortment of eateries available on the Fulham Road.”
Turkey-based upmarket chocolate and patisserie brand Cuppedia has just opened its first UK store on the Upper Mall of the Trafford Centre in Manchester.
