Just a month after announcing the opening of a venue in Monument for October, the brand has acquired Jewel Bar from Novus Leisure on Wood Lane – its third City site and fifth in London – and is in line with its expansion plans.
CEO Scott Matthews told BigHospitality: “We’re really pleased with how the expansion is going at the moment. Everyone knows finding sites in London is very challenging, and making sure they’re the right sites is crucial. In the past two years I’ve seen over 300 sites, but it’s got to have the right fit for Dirty Martini because we don’t want to compromise the customer experience.
“We feel like with our current momentum and the exposure we are getting, we are in a great place to achieve our goal of 12 sites by the end of 2016.”
The group expects a record Christmas period, with like-for-like bookings currently up 24 per cent on last year.
The company is in negotiations on two further locations that should open in the first half of the 2015, most likely in central London.
“We’re definitely exploring opportunities all through London but the brand needs to fit well in its area, so our primary concern is to make sure we don’t take anything that could damage what we’re doing,” Matthews added.
Design
He explained that the St Paul’s bar would have some of the key design elements of the Dirty Martini brand, but with features unique to its lay-out.
“St Paul’s is very unique compared to the other venues that we have. We’ve been very basement-focused on our other venues but this is our first ground floor venue, with an upstairs private bar, which is also a first. It immediately gives it a different feel from other Dirty Martini bars, as it has got daylight.”
The bar will include private areas, but open them up to include them into the rest of the room, in order to retain privacy but still be part of the party.
Designers are currently sourcing different artwork for the venue, with a focus on bespoke lighting solutions.
Other brands
CG Restaurants has also re-launched Fire & Stone with a stronger focus on cocktails, though there are no plans to expand from the brand’s current two sites.