British restaurant chain Bumpkin reveals roll-out plans
Bumpkin is to open its third restaurant at Westfield Stratford on 13 September – a 170-cover venue featuring an open plan kitchen, cocktail bar and terraced seating for an additional 45 covers.
The seasonal, British menu will reflect those offered at the group’s existing Notting Hill and South Kensington restaurants, with dishes including Tender-Roasted Gressingham Duck Leg with Buttered Runner Beans, Carrot Mash and a Redcurrant Sauce; Whole, Grilled South Coast Plaice with English Spinach Salad and Roasted Heritage Tomatoes; and Summer Leek and Mull of Kintyre Cheddar Tart with Chargrilled Courgettes.
A first for the restaurant group, which is owned by Ignite Group, the restaurant will also include a retail offer, with 27 preserves and popular menu items such as mustard, oils, jams and piccalilli available to take home.
Jason Myers, managing director of Bumpkin, told BigHospitality the restaurant’s location lent itself to support a retail offer.
“Retail is perfect for the Westfield environment,” he said. “We haven’t geared it up to make loads of profit; it’s to be a service really. Guests can buy things they taste at the restaurant and then take them home with them. We spend a lot of time researching food we get asked for on a regular basis. A big part of our customer base is overseas visitors and they like to take little things like that back with them.”
The Westfield Stratford restaurant will adopt a different, more modern design than Bumpkin’s existing two sites in a move to retain individuality across the group’s portfolio.
“Bumpkin’s not known as a cookie cutter brand; all the sites look different but have the essential Bumpkin DNA. Opening at Westfield means we’re putting Bumpkin onto the big stage and flying the flag for a fantastic, sustainable British restaurant.”
City sites and beyond
In addition to Westfield Stratford, Myers revealed the group has acquired a fourth site in the City in excess of 7000sqft with an opening penned for the New Year. Although the exact location is yet to be revealed, Myers confirmed the offer would be tailored towards City workers.
The sudden roll out of Bumpkin, which opened its last restaurant in South Kensington in 2009, is a result of a renewed interest by Ignite in its food-led businesses.
“There has been a really serious investment from Ignite into our food business - it’s a massive part of the strategy now. We’re all keen that we invest in it, and that’s why they recruited someone like me to look after Bumpkin. We’ve allocated quite a bit of money to invest into the restaurant side of the business, and Bumpkin is the lead domestic brand.
“However I’m massively protective that we’re not seen to be a roll out brand. We’ve got a very serious intent that we put all our own money into Bumpkin to take sites but we’ll only grow it if we find the right sites, and in essence that’s probably why it hasn’t grown as quickly as people might have expected.”
Bumpkin is currently seeking additional sites within the M25 and expects to announce several new openings next year.
Ignite, which is headed by chief executive Matt Hermer, also operates Eclipse in Chelsea, Playtime at Islington Green, and Boujis nightclub in South Kensington. The group also looks after the food and beverage operation at Starwood’s W Hotel in Piccadilly, including the Wyld bar, W Lounge, the Screening Room and The Library.
Ignite has also rebranded its Japanese restaurant Cocoon in the West End as Senkai, due to launch on 1 September.
