Snowflake aiming to grow to 160 sites in next five years with business preparing to scale globally at pace: London premium gelato brand Snowflake is aiming to grow to 160 sites in the next five years with the business preparing to scale globally at pace. The company, which operates 11 sites – eight in the UK and three internationally – opened its debut site in Bayswater, west London, in 2012. Founder Asad Khan told this month’s Propel Multi-Club Conference that seven sites are set to open in the UK over the next six months, including a fourth at the Trafford Centre in Manchester. The business also plans to expand its international portfolio by adding five outlets in the next year to its two sites in Saudi Arabia and one in Qatar. Khan said: “Our vision is to become the world’s most loved gelato brand. Now we have proven our model in the UK and internationally, we are looking to go global pretty quickly. We’re engaging with key franchise players and looking to roll out the model through franchising, especially internationally. Our strategy for the international expansion is to ‘land and expand’. So, we landed in Qatar, and we’re now looking to expand to the rest of the Middle East. We’re now finalising discussions for a roll out in the Far East, so we are going to land in Singapore and expand into that region. Then we’re going to turn our sights west and looking at North America with Canada and the USA. That strategy is looking to get us to 160 stores in the next five years. We’ve got our sights set on some big numbers, but with what we’ve achieved so far, we absolutely believe we can do that.” Khan said the group has also agreed a deal with another franchise partner looking to get the business into three more airports in the Middle East and across Europe. Khan said the average revenue per site was about £600,000 and Ebitda is in the mid 20%, with some of sites heading closer to 30%. “The model is really working for us, and that’s why we’re scaling at such speed,” he said. In April, Snowflake closed a £500,000 crowdfunding campaign on Crowdcube after overfunding by half again, eventually raising £750,000. Khan said. “We have a 70% repeat customer base, which is fantastic for a London-based business. Everything we do is around our customers and we wanted them to have a slice of that gelato pie, be part of the journey and that growth, and that forms a really important part of our relationship.” Khan said its brands and partnerships division represents about 15% of its business, with Fairmont Hotels and Vapiano among its customers. It also has an exclusive partnership with Carnival across its Iona and Arvia cruise liners, which Khan said it was looking at rolling out across Carnival’s other ships. Khan’s presentation will be among the videos from the Propel Multi-Club Conference that Premium subscribers will be given exclusive access to on Friday, 29 September at 9am. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Propel Premium for a year for £995 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or a supplier. The single subscription rate is £495 plus VAT for operators and £595 plus VAT for suppliers. Email jo.charity@propelinfo.com to upgrade your subscription.

 

Pret UK MD Clare Clough to speak at final Propel Multi-Club Conference of 2023, three free places per company for operators: Clare Clough, UK managing director at Pret A Manger, will be among the speakers at the final Propel Multi-Club Conference of 2023. The conference takes place on Thursday, 16 November, at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel in London’s Kensington, and is open for bookings. The all-day conference will focus on “progress in an era of strong headwinds”. Clough will talk about the transformation of the iconic brand from London-focused grab-and-go operator to an omnichannel, nationwide business. For the full speaker schedule, click here. Operators can book up to three free places per company by emailing kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com. Meanwhile, the Talent and Training Conference takes place on Tuesday, 3 October at One Moorgate Place in London. For the full speaker schedule, click here. Tickets are £295 plus VAT for operators and £395 plus VAT for suppliers and can be booked by emailing kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com.

 

Café and bakery concepts among 56 new businesses joining updated Premium Database of Multi-Site Companies: Café and bakery concepts are among the 56 new multi-site companies being added to the next edition of the Propel Premium Database of Multi-Site Companies, which will be released on Friday, 29 September, at midday. The updated Propel Multi-Site Database, which is produced in association with Virgate, features Centenary Lounge, which has opened its latest sites in Bicester and Solihull. The company’s concept is inspired by a 1930s Great Western Railway refreshment room and currently has five sites, with a sixth opening in Coventry soon. Bournemouth operator Aviary Hospitality Group has opened its second Flamingo Café Bar just a stone’s throw from the beach at Boscombe Spa, while Cake House Bakery, which sells cakes that are free from eggs, has grown to nine outlets. Premium subscribers will also receive a 4,000-word report on the new additions to the database. The comprehensive database is updated monthly and provides company names, the people in charge, how many sites each firm operates, its trading name and its registered name at Companies House if different. The database now features 2,983 companies. Premium subscribers are also to receive access to all the videos from this month’s Propel Multi-Club Conference and summer party. They will be sent 12 videos on Friday, 29 September at 9am. Premium subscribers also receive access to five other databases: the New Openings Database; the Propel Turnover & Profits Blue Book; the UK Food and Beverage Franchisor Database; the UK Food and Beverage Franchisee Database; and the Who's Who of UK Food and Beverage. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Propel Premium for a year for £995 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or a supplier. The single subscription rate is £495 plus VAT for operators and £595 plus VAT for suppliers. Email jo.charity@propelinfo.com to upgrade your subscription. Premium subscribers also receive their morning newsletter 11 hours early, at 7pm the evening before; regular video content and regular exclusive columns from Propel group editor Mark Wingett.

Delivery and takeaway sales rise 6% to extend recovery from post-covid slump: Britain’s top managed restaurant groups secured a third successive month of year-on-year growth in delivery and takeaway sales in August, according to CGA by NIQ’s Hospitality at Home Tracker. It showed revenue from orders was 6% higher than in August 2022. It extends a run of growth that followed 18 successive months of negative year-on-year trading as consumers started eating out again after the easing of covid lockdowns. The tracker showed a 9% rise in delivery sales by value – a much faster rate of growth than the figure of 1% in takeaways and click-and-collect sales. The combined volume of orders dropped again month-by-month by 2%, though this rate of decline has slowed recently. While sales have recovered over the summer, deliveries and takeaways are now a much smaller part of restaurants’ trading mix than they were during covid. Combined sales accounted for 13% of groups’ total sales in August – a sharp drop from 22% in August 2022. Karl Chessell, CGA’s business unit director – hospitality operators and food, EMEA, said: “Delivery and takeaway sales have fallen substantially from the boom years of 2020 and 2021, when they were vital in sustaining restaurants’ trading through lockdowns. But it’s encouraging to see them back in year-on-year growth now, and they are certain to remain a significant element of restaurants’ operations.”

  

Job of the day: COREcruitment is working with a hospitality business that has growth plans and is seeking a head of sales. A COREcruitment spokesperson said: “With a leisure focus, you will drive the group’s revenue by effectively selling the brand within the local area, national and international markets. Your responsibilities will include being responsible for the development and implementation of the sales plan to encompass direct sales calls, telesales, research, appointment making and trading as well as promotional campaigns, client familiarisation visits and contract negotiation, driving and co-ordinating all sales activity to maximise revenue from existing accounts, and investigating new areas of business in terms of market development into new territories and market segments to quantifiable targets.” The salary is negotiable and the position is based in London. For more information, email lara@corecruitment.com. 

 

Kibou appoints advisors as it explores growth options, Horswill made sole MD: Kibou Restaurants, the Japanese concept led by Regent Inns founder David Franks, has appointed advisors to explore its growth options as it gears up for further growth, Propel has learned. The five-strong business is understood to be working with William Baxter and Payam Keyghobadi, advisors at Dow Schofield Watts London, on its options, which could include a sale of the business. It is thought Kibou, which earlier this year opened in Cambridge, could attract interest from investment firms and trade buyers, with a number of the latter looking to refresh their estates. At the same time, Horswill, who joined Kibou as operations director in September 2020, just as the group launched its second site, has been promoted to managing director. He was promoted to joint managing director at the start of this year, and the company said he has been pivotal in leading the concept’s growth. Prior to joining Kibou, he was head of franchise development at Black & White Hospitality and spent two and a half years at Caribbean restaurant brand Turtle Bay. Franks, who founded Kibou in 2019, and was instrumental in the sale of Redcomb Pubs’ 15-strong pub estate to Young’s for £34m that same year, continues as chairman of the group, which also operates sites in Cheltenham, Battersea, Clifton, and Solihull. He said: “I’m delighted to hand over the reins to the very capable Sam, who during his time at Kibou has both strengthened the brand and its commercial and operational success. Sam is a forward-thinking leader and 100% focused on building a unique business that’s centred on strong core values with a unified drive for success. With him at the helm, I am confident we will go from strength to strength as we continue our expansion and roll-out plans.” Horswill added: “I am excited to take on this role and to lead the brand as we continue to focus on our expansion over the next five years. As a business, we’re totally ready for this, with a strong people culture front and centre and a dedicated team with a proven track record in successfully running and rolling out new sites. With Cambridge now established and a further site already in legals, the next chapter for Kibou is poised to be a very exciting one.”

 

Market Halls CEO – the UK’s food hall market is hugely fragmented but more sophisticated: Andy Lewis-Pratt, chief executive of Market Halls, the London-based food market hall operator, has said the UK’s food hall market is hugely fragmented, making it ripe for consolidation. Earlier this week, the business – which operates sites in London's Oxford Street, Canary Wharf and Victoria – said it was its intention to open an average of two or three Market Halls sites per year over the next five years in major cities and regional hubs across the country, with an ambition to become the UK’s largest food hall operator. Lewis-Pratt said: “We commissioned a report recently which found there are 80 food halls in the UK, with another 20 currently planned for the next year or so. We are one of the largest operators even with only three sites. It is a hugely fragmented market and we think it is ripe for consolidation. We have got three venues under offer – two are new sites and one is an existing business – so there are real opportunities out there. One of them is in London. The category has gone through a state of flux, and I would say the difference now to pre-covid is that it is a lot more sophisticated. There are different kinds of segments/versions: food undercover – mostly temporary, under the arches style; then there are the likes of us, and we call ourselves upmarket street food, closer to restaurants; and then there is the more premium type, which is like Arcade. We want to dominate the segment, the catchment area and the city we are in. To do that, we need to find sites that can take at least 400 covers internally and 100 outside, and big enough for eight to ten kitchens.” Lewis-Pratt said the way the Gees Court Partners-backed company chooses its kitchen partners has also evolved. He said: “When we first came into it, we thought we would be choosing people that had one street food outlet, young chefs and giving them an opportunity. I think Kerb does that extremely well, but we found that very difficult to do. When you bring street food guys into a more restaurant environment it can be very problematic. All our traders have to produce good food, but the trick is to do that consistently, and a lot of it. Unless you have real restaurant experience, that is hard to do. So, we have now decided that to be in one of our venues, you have to have real experience in running more than a restaurant or street food outlet. If you have two or three sites, you have much more of a business mentality. Six is probably the most outlets any one of our traders has got, we never want to become something that has chains of restaurants inside our sites. We still want that independent feel.” DF Tacos, the fledgling concept from Wahaca, operates out of Market Halls, and Lewis-Pratt said it is likely a few more of those types of hybrid concepts from experienced operators will be opening in its sites over the next few months.

 

US Indian street food concept to enter UK market with 60-unit franchise deal: US Indian street food concept Curry Up Now is to enter the UK market with 60-unit franchise deal. Founded in San Francisco in 2009 by Akash Kapoor and Amir Hosseini, Curry Up Now operates 16 restaurants and four “Mortar & Pestle” bars across the States, with three more “coming soon”. It describes itself as the “largest and fastest growing Indian fast casual restaurant chain in North America, renowned for their innovative spin on traditional Indian cuisine – Indian street food with a modern twist”. Kapoor said: “Almost 14 years to the day we first rolled our first burrito, I am so happy to announce we are going to the UK. We are going to open 60 restaurants and bars in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. We will start with a few next year, in Edinburgh and Glasgow, and quickly open in other cities thereafter.” The company said it is a perfect fit for prime real estate and flexible conversion options from 1,300 to 3,300 square feet. There is no requirement for an Indian chef as all chutneys and sauces are prepared and delivered using a commissary and major distributor. There is also the option to include a “Mortar & Pestle” speakeasy bar where available, while the menu is halal and includes a wide array of vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free choices. Looking back at his company’s founding, Kapoor said: “In August of 2009, my father gave us $19,000 to buy a food truck. After ten good years running a mortgage business, we burned and crashed through several pivots and redos. Our house was for sale, we had no cash. We cooked at home – mum would make rice, dad would make chana and saag. The city had no licence to give us – the cops would make us move every hour and sometimes 50-75 people would move with us! One truck became three, four and five, and then we started opening restaurants in 2011. We started franchising some years ago with Fransmart and brought in an amazing leader in Gill Gosal. I haven’t mentioned my wife, Rana, who is always in the background, but we would not be Curry Up Now without her.”

Crispy Dosa makes international debut: Vegetarian restaurant concept Crispy Dosa, which operates eight sites in the UK, has made its international debut with an opening in India, Propel has learned. Crispy Dosa, which is led by Jayakumar Madanagopal, has opened a site in Namma, Chennai. It said the opening was the “start of its overseas journey”. The concept, which specialises in Chettinad cuisine from south India, opened its first branch in 2000. It operates sites across the south of England including restaurants in Watford, Windsor, Reading and Milton Keynes. It is set to expand further west, with an opening lined up in Bristol. It will open in the city’s Union Street, on the site of the former Italian restaurant La Grotta, which closed in June. The company said: “Get ready to experience the authentic flavours of south India as we open our doors in Bristol. From the heart of India to the heart of Bristol, get ready for a culinary journey that’s crispy, flavourful and utterly delicious. Join us for the grand opening and savour the taste of tradition! Our customers are our strength and we ensure every customer visiting us will get value for money, service and quality. We constantly strive to innovate and improve our business model to meet our growing customer needs.”

Zensho Holdings completes $621m acquisition of YO!-owner Snowfox Group: Japanese foodservice company Zensho Holdings has completed its acquisition of the Snowfox Group, which owns the YO!, Panku, Bento and Taiko brands, in a deal valued at $621m (£494.5m). The deal – first announced earlier this summer – sees Mayfair Equity Partners, which has backed YO! since 2015 and built Snowfox into a multi-channel, multi-format, international business, fully exit the company. The two companies said a combination of Zensho and Snowfox’s capabilities represents a “highly complementary proposition”. They said: “Snowfox’s diversified international offering will support Zensho’s ambitions outside of its home market of Japan. Zensho will be able to bring its Japanese heritage and expertise to Snowfox’s business, to the benefit of employees, franchisees, retailers and end-customers alike.” Richard Hodgson, chief executive at Snowfox Group, said: “Becoming part of Zensho represents a significant and hugely exciting next step for the Snowfox Group. Zensho is an outstanding business that shares our passion for quality, authentic and affordable Japanese food. Above all, it is testament to the strength of the business we have built that a Japanese business of Zensho’s reputation and heritage wants us to join it. With Mayfair’s support, Snowfox has already established itself as a Japanese food provider of international scale and expertise – and I am confident that under Zensho’s ownership, we will build on this further, unlocking our next stage of growth.” Snowfox operates about 3,000 chef-operated sushi kiosks and other restaurants in North America and the UK, as well as being a sushi manufacturer and wholesaler. In the year to 27 November 2022, sushi restaurant chain and supermarket kiosk operator YO! reported a “strong rebound” in sales and said it remained well placed for further growth. Revenue rose 53.8% to £84,744,000 (2021: £55,102,000), while adjusted Ebitda increased to £7.4m (2021: £700,000). The business, which operates 52 restaurants and 328 kiosks, posted a pre-tax profit of £2,179,000, up from a loss of £4,111,000 the previous year.

Itsu to open ‘biggest and boldest site so far’ in London’s Bishopsgate: Itsu, the healthy Asian food chain, is to open its “biggest and boldest site so far”, in London’s Bishopsgate, before the end of the year, Propel has learned. The 85-strong business will open a 2,200 square-foot, 59-cover site at 150 Bishopsgate, in November. Founder Julian Metcalfe told Propel: “This will be our biggest and boldest site so far. The most confident too, and now with our new menu and technology, a sure-fire win for our customers wanting healthier, nutritious affordable food, fast.” Earlier this summer, Metcalfe told Propel that the business was “back to building temples” again, as it opened “major sites on corners”. It has also signed on a site in Oxford Street, and Metcalfe said the brand has “about eight great sites in the pipeline but need ten more.” Last month, the company said it plans to more than double its current UK estate and told Propel it believed there are still plenty of opportunities for “our temples to health[ier] fast food across UK cities and towns, bustling transport hubs and roadsides”. In the summer, the business reported a 59% increase in sales to £138m in the year to the end of 2022, and saw its “highest group sales in history this July”. DCL acted on the Bishopsgate deal.

 

Birds pays out £10m dividend following restructure, price increases ‘paid off’ as sales up 15%, profits increase following sale of five properties: East Midlands bakery business Birds paid out £10m in dividends following a company restructure in the year ending 31 December 2022. The 61-strong brand also said price increases had “paid off” as sales were up 15% in the period, while profits were also up following the sale of five properties. “Prior to 22 September 2022, the company was owned by members of the Bird family and associated family trusts,” said director Lesley Bird in her statement accompanying the accounts. “On 22 September 2022, the company was acquired by its newly incorporated parent company, Birds Bakery Holdings, also controlled by the Bird family. As part of the acquisition and to facilitate the buyout of the family trusts, a dividend of £10,175,000 (2021: nil) was paid to Birds Bakery Holdings.” Bird said the period saw a “consistent increase in customer visits” but also “intense pricing pressure” that forced it to increase sales prices “in order to maintain the high quality of our products”. Bird said: “Despite these challenges, our efforts have paid off as we have achieved a 15% increase in turnover compared with the previous year, with sales reaching £29,195,113, up from £25,448,917 in 2021.” A new shop in Teal Park, Nottingham, opened during the period, while a £683,000 profit on disposal of five properties helped negate cost rises and saw a slight rise in pre-tax profit to £2,363,045. This was up from £2,324,398 in 2021, which included a deficit on property revaluation of £417,000. Bird said the company’s cash position remains strong and she is “confident that our efforts will continue to yield positive returns in the future”. The company received no government grants (2021: £199,624).

Leeds operators set to open second site for ramen restaurant concept, third to follow next year: Leeds operators Ash Kollakowski and Simon Stevens are set to open a second site for their ramen restaurant concept House of Fu, with a third to follow next year, Propel has learned. House of Fu will open in the listed building once occupied by the Architects Society in Portland Street, in Manchester, on Friday, 20 October. The 120-cover restaurant, with a standalone cocktail bar and karaoke booths, follows the duo’s first House of Fu, which opened at 15-19 The Headrow in Leeds two years ago. It is a third site as a partnership for Stevens and Kollakowski, who in July launched multi-use events space Project House in Leeds’ Armley Road. As part of the Super Friendly Group, they were also behind Leeds venues such as Headrow House, Ox Club and Belgrave Music Hall, which celebrates is tenth birthday this month. The site for the third House of Fu has not yet been revealed but will open in 2024.

Incipio Group among operators lined up for The Saville Theatre redevelopment: Property investor Yoo Capital has outlined its plans for Shaftesbury Avenue’s The Saville Theatre, which will include a site from the Incipio Group. The Evening Standard reported Yoo Capital has put forward plans to bring hospitality and entertainment brands, including potentially the world-famous Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group, to the former Saville Theatre that once hosted live performances by The Who and Chuck Berry. Since 1930, the 110,000 square-foot, grade II-listed venue in Shaftesbury Avenue was known for live music before being converted to a cinema in its later years, most recently used by Odeon. Operators have been lined up to help return the West End site to a live performance venue with dining and accommodation, subject to planning approval. They include boutique hotel company Citizen M and Incipio Group, operator of venues including Pergola on the Wharf, The Prince and Lost in Brixton. Yoo Capital added that Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group is exploring the venue as its first permanent home in the UK. Eric Grilly, president of resident and affiliate show divisions at the entertainment specialist known for acrobatic performances, said: “We see a unique opportunity to bring back live entertainment to a beloved venue with fresh content and new ideas.” Yoo Capital will look to submit plans later this year following a public consultation.

HOP opens regional debut site: Vietnamese street food concept HOP has opened its regional debut site, in Manchester. The Paul Hopper-founded business, which also operates sites in Moorgate and St Paul’s, debuted its new all-day, seven-day a week format earlier this summer in London’s Bond Street, in the West One shopping centre. It has now made its regional debut in the lower level of The Orient food court, in Manchester’s Trafford Centre. The company said the opening follows a “significant growth period for the concept” and has created 30 jobs. Hopper said: “Our first restaurant outside of London is a significant step for HOP. Trafford Centre is a thriving shopping destination and we are confident that shoppers will welcome our alternative offering to the typical fast-food options.” Hopper told Propel in June that the group had been looking to explore moving out of its City base before the pandemic but the work put in over the last nine months, led by managing director Richard Franks, on training, development, marketing and offer, meant the business now had the right foundations to move into new markets. Hopper said: “If we get these two sites right, which I think we will, it opens up a lot of new avenues for the group, in terms of more shopping centres, transport hubs and eventually franchising, the latter of which we have tentatively started to explore.” Hopper said the business, which is privately backed, would be looking at a further fundraise by the end of the year. 

Starbucks franchisee opens 25th UK store, in Telford: Starbucks franchisee Queensway has opened its 25th UK store, in the Forge Retail Park in Telford, Shropshire. Queensway, which was founded in 1973, also operates 19 KFC restaurants in Austria and Slovakia, as well as several hotels and the Sloane Club. Founder Nurdin Jivraj started out with a shop in his native Tanzania, in east Africa, before coming to the UK and has been franchising with Starbucks since 2015. It sold its UK KFC business of 20 stores in 2018 but retained its KFC presence in mainland Europe.

Pasta Evangelists to open UK’s biggest pasta factory next month: Pasta Evangelists will open the UK’s biggest pasta factory next month. Following an investment of more than £13m, the site in North Acton, west London, will serve the concept’s rapid expansion across the UK, while producing more than 50 tonnes of fresh pasta every week. Earlier this year, Pasta Evangelists announced the launch of its own takeaway service in London, with an ambition to cover all major UK cities by mid-2023 and plans to eventually open more than 800 takeaway units. The company, which was founded in 2016 by Alessandro Savelli, first entered the takeaway market with a single unit in east London with Deliveroo, but now operates more than 30 takeaway units across the capital. It said the successful launches of its London kitchens paved the way for generating high footfall across some of the UK’s biggest cities including Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Nottingham, Cambridge and Bristol. Following a majority stake sale to Barilla in 2021, in a deal worth around £40m, Pasta Evangelists said its sales have grown three-fold, doubling its revenue from 2021 to 2022. It said it now stands as the biggest pasta brand in the UK by revenue and is “only continuing to grow”.

Swedish bakery brand Fabrique opens first cafe concept within a retail space: Swedish bakery brand Fabrique has opened its first cafe concept within a retail space. The business has launched the cafe within Designers Guild’s flagship store at 267-277 King’s Road in London’s Chelsea. The cafe concession offers Fabrique’s signature stone-oven baked artisanal sourdough, pastries, Swedish buns and fresh coffee, alongside Designers Guild’s established offering of furnishing fabrics, wallcoverings, upholstery and bed and bath collections. Founded in 2008 by David and Charlotta Zetterstrom, Fabrique operates across London, Stockholm and New York. Charlotta Zetterstrom said: “The collaboration with The Designers Guild is our first cafe concept within a retail space and something new for us.” Hannah Grievson, property director at landlord Sloane Stanley, added: “Fabrique’s core values of authenticity and genuineness mirror and complement the wider estate and it will appeal to a broad selection of our demographic.”

 

Popeyes UK begins breakfast menu rollout: Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, the US fried chicken quick-service brand, is launching its breakfast offer nationwide after a successful trial. In March, the 30-strong business began trialling a breakfast offer in the UK, at its sites at the Metrocentre in Gateshead and in Oxford. The nationwide offer will feature the Big Cajun Roll – sausage patty, Cajun hash brown, egg, smoked streaky bacon and American cheese in a soft brioche bun with a new Cajun ketchup, all sandwiched in “Popeyes' classic brioche bun from its iconic Chicken Sandwich”; breakfast muffins; breakfast biscuits; Cajun hash brown and drinks. The breakfast menu, which is available until 11am daily, is on offer at eight stores – Woolwich, Richmond, Barrhead, Rotherham, Northampton, Cardiff Bay, Oxford and Gateshead – and will be rolled out across ten additional locations throughout the country later this year. Neil Williamson, chief operations officer, said: “We’re thrilled to be opening restaurants earlier to bring our new breakfast menu to our Popeyes fans across the UK. The bold and flavourful Cajun seasoning of New Orleans can now be enjoyed in the morning, alongside a great range of fresh coffee, cold drinks and shakes.” The brand is planning to open eight more sites by the end of the year.

Black Sheep Coffee makes east of England debut with Peterborough launch: Speciality coffee shop operator Black Sheep Coffee has opened a site in Peterborough for its debut site in the east of England. The group has launched the 1,800 square-foot kiosk on the ground floor of the Queensgate shopping centre, having previously agreed a deal with landlord Queensgate. Gabriel Shohet and Eirik Holth, co-founders of Black Sheep Coffee, said: “We’re thrilled to have finally opened in Peterborough. For years people asked us to open there but we wanted to make sure we got the right spot and we couldn’t be happier to have picked Queensgate, the beating heart of town when it comes to shopping and eating out.” The company, which operates in excess of 70 outlets, has more than ten sites confirmed for its openings pipeline in the UK, including venues in London, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Manchester, Warrington and Colchester, and is also set to open a site at Luton airport. Black Sheep also plans to make its debut in the US before the end of the year and has selected Texas as its entry point.

Scottish retail chain becomes Pizza Hut franchisee: Scottish retail chain Greens Retail, which operates 19 stores across the country, has become a Pizza Hut franchisee. Multi-site operator Harris Aslam has become one of the first independent retailers to operate a Pizza Hut franchise alongside a convenience store, with more sites to come. Aslam already operates a Subway franchise from some of his existing branches. The Nisa retailer and managing director of Greens Retail parent company, Glenshire Group, said the first site under the deal is next to his convenience store in Kirkcaldy. Aslam told Better Retailing conversations with Pizza Hut began a couple of years ago, with further sites to potentially open either inside or next to his other stores. He said: “It’s a totally separate business and adds value to our existing convenience business – and we’re also looking at home delivery.” Glenshire Group added: “We are proud to announce that we are Pizza Hut UK & Europe’s newest franchisee. It has been just over a decade since Pizza Hut left Kirkcaldy, but we’re bringing it back with a bang. We’re excited to be working with Pizza Hut on what we hope is the start of a strong and prosperous relationship with more locations opening in the future.”

Bear confirms October opening for sixth site, seventh to follow later this year: Midlands cafe bar concept Bear has confirmed its sixth site will open in October, with number seven to follow later this year. Bear Ashbourne, which will serve as a “versatile coffee house, kitchen and bar”, will open in the former Bennett’s department store in St John Street on Thursday, 5 October. The dog-friendly venue will also launch the brand’s new “Later at Bear” concept, which will see it offer fully stacked smash burgers, taco trays, loaded fries and twisted cocktail classics every Friday and Saturday from 5pm. Bear’s seventh site, in Hockley, Nottingham, is also due to open later this year.

Team behind TĀ TĀ Eatery set to open new restaurant in Battersea: The team behind Portuguese-Chinese concept TĀ TĀ Eatery in London’s Dalston, are set to open new restaurant in Battersea. Chefs and husband-and-wife team Ana Gonçalves and Zijun Meng will open the 80-cover Solis in Arcade Battersea on Wednesday, 4 October. Named after Juan Díaz de Solis, a 16th-century explorer said to have been the first European to land on what is now Uruguay, Solis will be a chicken and steak grill with flavour influences from Spain, Portugal and Latin America. The “de la parilla” section of the menu (£15-£20) will include half a spatchcock chicken with smoked Aji-Aji oil, as well as flat-iron steak with Solis’ version of entrecôte sauce. Both come with fries and an Asador salad, while guests can also choose to add additional sauces. Small dishes from the “para picar” menu (£2-£4) include Huevos Rellenos (devilled eggs with a spiced tuna filling and salsa golf sauce) and Elotes Asados (a street-style grilled corn on the cob with crema dressing and lime and chilli seasoning). Drinks include three types of Sangria served by the glass or jug (£7/£25), plus cocktails and wine. Gonçalves said “Solis is a very personal restaurant for me. I wanted to create a place for everyone, which serves the type of food I have experienced since I was little; very simple, but full of flavour and approachable. We want Solis to be a place everyone feels at home – somewhere unfussy and warm that serves the sort of food you want to eat over and over again.” Gonçalves and Meng met while working under Nuno Mendes and followed him from The Loft Project to Chiltern Firehouse before launching TĀ TĀ Eatery as an evening offering at Dalston’s Curio Cabal cafe in 2015. Since it closed, Gonçalves and Meng have operated various pop-ups and residences and also collaborated with Samuel Haim on Mr Ji before the Asian restaurant moved from Soho to Camden.