Jamie Oliver’s mid-market restaurant brand, which started up in 2008, expects to be running just under 30 new sites by the end of the year, with international plans for the year including Australia and Dubai.
The first Australian site is expected to launch in Sydney in July 2011. Located at 107 Pitt Street, the site will accommodate 200 diners over two floors.
Sydney site
Simon Blagden, managing director at Jamie’s Italian International said: “Australia is a country that Jamie’s been visiting for 10 years and he’s always been welcomed warmly. So it’s exciting that Jamie’s Italian is ready to launch in Sydney, which is one of the great cities of the world.
“Australians love going out and eating delicious food as much as anyone, so I’m sure Jamie’s Italian will appeal. It’s basically fantastic food and service at really good value.”
The new Sydney site will include both booths and colourful chairs. It will feature a pasta machine in the front window, which will produce fresh pasta daily, as well as an antipasti and dessert counter on the mezzanine dining area.
The menu will include a variety of pastas, Italian mains and antipasti, with an emphasis on the sourcing of the ingredients.
Jamie’s Italian will be taken to Sydney in collaboration with the Pacific Restaurant Group, an Australian full service operator said to be the only publicly owned group of its kind.
Other businesses in PRG’s portfolio include Kingsleys Steak & Crabhouse and Chophouse.
Jamie’s Italian expansion
Earlier this month, industry experts said that Jamie’s Italian could see profits of £5-£7m per year, by the end of 2011.
The opening programme this year means that the group, which was named Restaurant Chain of the Year at the 2010 R200 Awards , will have added 20 sites to its original seven in just two years by the end of 2011.
It opened ten venues in 2010 - located in Leeds, Cambridge, Reading, Cardiff, Covent Garden, Westfield, Liverpool, Glasgow and Birmingham. Sites are rumoured to be taking more than £3m each on an annualised basis, which means a total of 27 sites are likely to produce in excess of £70m of turnover.