The brand, whose signature dish is the Fairfax - scrambled egg and cheese in a brioche role, named after the neighbourhood in LA where Eggslut first started trading - is eyeing sites in the capital and across the UK, according to Whitney White Myrus, managing partner at ITICO F+B, the food and beverage company that is managing Eggslut’s UK rollout.
The brand is looking at London locations including Shoreditch, Canary Wharf and Soho, where Myrus says there is “a strong appreciation of good food”. There are plans for around five Eggsluts in the capital in total, he says. “We are not going to have the brand on every street corner, we want to retain its exclusivity.”
The company is also looking to establish the brand further afield in the UK and is looking to open regional sites at the same time as London ones, rather then establish a collection of restaurants in the capital first as is typically the case with US brands coming over here. It says it is looking at a site in Edinburgh, although it is too early to say whether this will become a reality, says Myrus.
Other UK locations under consideration include Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Oxford, Manchester and Liverpool, with the company looking to open restaurants between 1,000sq ft and 2,000sq ft of trading space over one floor.
While EggSlut is already looking at suitable locations for its second UK restaurant, Myrus says the brand won’t rush its expansion. “We want 10 locations, but if it takes us five years that how long it takes,” he says. “It’s all about the real estate and ensuring we get the right locations.”
Eggslut started life as a Los Angeles street food business in 2011 when it was founded by chef Alvin Cailan in 2011, opening its first bricks and mortar restaurant in LA’s Grand Central Market. It now operates five restaurants Stateside as well as one in Kuwait City, albeit under a slightly tweaked name.