Brewdog set to swoop on Polpo's Ape & Bird site

Brewer and bar operator Brewdog is believed to be the front runner in acquiring Polpo’s Ape & Bird site, which closed earlier this week.

The Scottish brewer looks set to take on the two-storey site in London’s Cambridge Circus.

In a note on the window of Ape & Bird, the company wrote: “It is with regret that we have decided to permanently close Polpo at Ape & Bird. We have accepted an offer for the lease from a very exciting operator, allowing us to concentrate on our core estate.”

The company also said in the note that “every single one” of its staff members had been relocated to one of its other restaurants.

Polpo has also closed its Bristol site in Whiteladies Road less than 18 months after it opened.

BrewDog appears to be focusing on its London projects in the early months of 2018. The brewer is developing its former Punk Kitchen site in Islington in to a bar, food, retail and ‘educational’ facility under its Hopworks brand.

The site originally opened as a hotdog concept Dog Eat Dog in March 2016, but later relaunched as Punk Kitchen. Under the Hopworks brand it will have home brew kits and will use the space to teach customers about brewing.

Brewdog is currently going through another round of crowdfunding, and has so far raised £9.26m of its £10m target. There are only a few days left to run on the crowdfunding campaign.