Soho House to develop roadside restaurant and hotel concept
BigHospitality's sister publication M&C Allegra Foodservice understands that the group, which is led by Alex Dawson, is working on the launch of a 'motel diner' format and hopes to have the first site under the new as-yet-unnamed concept in development before the end of the year.
Dawson told M&C that the company was hoping to receive planning permission for a site over the coming months.
He also confirmed that the company will reopen the former Café Monico site on Shaftesbury Avenue under its original name in March.
The 180-cover restaurant will feature a menu that takes 'inspiration from the Mediterranean Sea and serves rustic Italian and French favourites'.
Last year, Soho House sold a 50 per cent stake in its restaurant operation, which oversees its Pizza East, Chicken Shop and Dirty Burger concepts, plus the development of new formats, to a private partner, in a deal that valued that part of its business at c£33m.
The new investment is thought to equate to c£5m of funding in the near term as the company looks to add up to 10 restaurant sites a year, with Chicken Shop leading the way.
Dawson, who was previously head of operations franchise at Greene King, took over from former YO! Sushi operations director Gary Thomas last November in overseeing the day-to-day operation and expansion of Soho House’s restaurant brands and development of new concepts under the Rollout Restaurants umbrella.
Café Monico will launch on the former Avalon nightclub site, which closed after a fatal shooting took place inside the venue on 26 December 2013 The venture takes its name from the high-end restaurant, which traded in Piccadilly Circus from 1877 right up until the end of the 1950s.
