Haché picks Shoreditch for fourth burger restaurant

The new 70-cover restaurant in Curtain Road will be managed by Patricio McAdam, currently working at the operator's Clapham branch and will serve the same menu at the same prices as its three other branches, but will have a distinctly Shoreditch feel to it. 

"This will probably be our edgiest in terms of design as we like to adapt the brand to the environment in which branches are in," said Beresford Casey, who has aimed to grow his business organically rather than have a mass-scale roll-out of the concept.  

"We are privately owned and have grown slowly," he said. "We aren't looking to be a chain, but we saw an opportunity in Shoreditch and are hoping it will work well there."

Staff retention​

Since the Caseys launched the first Haché in Camden in 2004, the company has managed to retain 60 per cent of its staff members, which not only bucks the industry norm, but is also one of the secrets to its success according to Casey. 

He said: "We have got a family-feel in the restaurant and that has a positive knock-on effect in terms of customer service because customers get to know the staff.

"We have got a low number of staff, but we know them well and are able to capitalise on their skills, so we promote a lot from within. Our Shoreditch general manager is one good example of that." 

Success​

The second Haché was opened on Fulham Road in Chelsea and last year, the third restaurant was established in High Street, Clapham. All three sites, which serve beef, lamb, chicken, fish, vegetarian and even duck burgers, are trading well, Casey said, with the softer, more feminine design coupled with a popular product attracting regular customers and drawing praise from critics. 

"You have got to have confidence in the brand," he said when asked about the fact that there are more burger operators in the marketplace now than when Haché launched nine years ago. "We are very, very focused on the quality of the sourcing. There are some great concepts out there, but what we have got to do is hold stable and keep producing the highest quality we can. 

"We are not looking to be a 'burger joint' rather a place where diners can enjoy good food in a relaxed ambiance. When we opened, Susie set out to make Haché a place that was conducive to women. Now our female customers drag their partners in for a burger rather than the other way round."