Friday Five: the week's top news
We round-up some of the top hospitality stories you might have missed this week
- Hawksmoor owners Will Beckett and Hugh Gott are to close their Foxlow restaurant in Chiswick this week. The duo say they have been unable to "make it work" and are aiming to redistribute staff to other sites. The team, who also closed Foxlow Stoke Newington in January last year, are left with three remaining Foxlow's in London .
- Deliveroo has begun giving street food brands 12-week trials at its delivery-only 'dark kitchens'. The most popular will be offered the chance to become a permanent partner with Deliveroo Editions after the three month period. The company says the scheme, starting at its Canary Wharf site, will help the best street food start-ups reach new customers.
- An independent chicken shop has claimed it is being "bullied" by Nando's, which has sent a legal letter asking it to change its name and logo. Fernando's in Reading is accused of copying the chicken giant's branding, though owner Asam Aziz says the moniker is of Portuguese origin and is also inspired by the fictional island on ITV's Take Me Out, rather than the 'cheeky' chain. "The worst case scenario is I'll have to give up the rights to Fernando's," says Aziz.
- Wasabi has secured a £30m investment from HSBC to expand in London over the next two years. The funds will be used to rollout its eponymous sushi and bento chain and new bakery group Soboro - which offers Korean and Japanese pastries.
- MasterChef: The Professionals runner-up Matt Healy is to launch a restaurant at Leeds' The Foundry this year. The site's current owners are selling up and Healy says he will reopen the "institution" with a new look, name and menu in May.
For more of this week's news, click here.
