Will Beckett and Huw Gott have agreed to buy Sam’s Brasserie in Chiswick and Harrison’s in Balham from owner Sam Harrison.
After launching Foxlow Stoke Newington in April the pair initially had no further plans to open additional restaurants this year, but decided to purchase their third and fourth sites ‘over a beer’ with Harrison.
While the sale is subject to consultation with staff, the restaurants are set to close on 1 September and relaunch as the 150-cover Foxlow Chiswick and 120-cover Foxlow Balham in October and November this year.
Beckett said: “We’ve always really liked Sam’s restaurants and felt that we could pick up where he left off – opening restaurants that are a genuine part of a vibrant community, where food, drink and service are always the most important things.”
He added that the sale had made the partners ‘think hard’ about the future of Foxlow.
He said: “What we want to do is create a group of restaurants with genuine integrity. No one likes the word chain: it conjures up an image of a group of restaurants that has prioritised making money over doing what they love, which has grown too fast, and which has sacrificed originality and quality for simplicity and consistency.
“We think that if we prioritise the things we really care about like the best possible ingredients, great drinks and friendly service from people who love what they do we’ll have a chance of having a great company, and Foxlow will stand a chance of being well loved wherever it opens.”