The highly rated Indian restaurant has been looking to expand for some time. Husband and wife duo Alun and Dawn Sperring raised £700,000 on Growthdeck last year but ended up pulling out of the deal.
The pair have now partnered with Imagine Capital, a boutique investment and advisory firm, that is to inject funds into an expansion of the brand over the next few years.
Expected to open in July, The Chilli Pickle Guildford will be a comparable size to the pair’s original restaurant with around 125 covers.
With an Indian market inspired feel, the new site will retain the original’s bright, all-day vibe with hand-painted Tamil stencil graphics and A2 roadside-style posters.
As with the original Brighton site, Alun - who is a classically trained chef with a CV that includes a spell with Vivek Singh at The Cinnamon Club - will run the kitchen, while Dawn will oversee from of house. The pair go on regular trips to India to find new dishes for their menus.
“The key for us is to retain the essence of who we are with a creative edge, attention to detail and to keep it as a family vocation with our regular Indian research trips, which enables us to keep our brand fresh and retain the confidence of our customers - wherever we are,” says Dawn.
The Sperrings opened The Chilli Pickle on Meeting House Lane in 2008 in Brighton, which was succeeded by a larger site on Jubilee Street in 2011.
The 115-cover restaurant has made its name offering authentic, regional Indian dishes. As well as regularly featuring on Restaurant magazine’s National Restaurant Awards list of the top 100 restaurants in the UK, it has held a Michelin Bib Gourmand for nine years.