Maxwell’s, which operates its eponymous brand as well as Café de Paris, Sticky Fingers and Southern’s Joes among other brands, has submitted a licensing application for the site.
The group was set up in 1972 with the aim of bringing “good quality American casual dining and service standards to the London restaurant scene”.
It leaves Muriel’s, the restaurant and deli concept set up by Charlotte Miller, with just one site – in South Kensington. It had grown to four sites in total at one point.
Last week, Maxwell’s announced its Maxwell’s Bar & Grill on Covent Garden’s James Street would be relocating to King Street after 25 years due to “unsustainable rent increases”.
“In an ever-changing London market, Maxwell’s Bar and Grill has stood the test of time but in the face of unsustainable rent increases, the group had to consider more viable business options,” says Maxwell’s Restaurant Group operations director Jim Robertson.
It will close on 8 April and reopen on 10 April on the site currently operating as Joe’s Southern Table and Bar, also owned by Maxwell’s Restaurant Group. A new site for Joe’s is set to open this May in Covent Garden.
Shelley Sandzer acted on the Old Compton Street deal.