Honi Poke looking to open at least six sites a year
The London-based business has openings lined up in Fleet Place, Bishopsgate, Victoria and the South Bank in London, as well as Selfridges in Manchester, which should take its estate to 15-sites by the end of September.
Martynov told MCA, BigHospitality's sister site, the business had also lined up an opening in Birmingham and would then be looking to extend its reach in places like Edinburgh, Liverpool, Cardiff and Brighton – where it is currently looking to offer on a site, as part of its plan to open in every major UK city by 2023.
“We will look to get central flagship locations to start with, and then see after a year or so how we can expand. With some cities like Manchester and Birmingham there is definitely the scope to have three or four sites,” he said.
The business, which secured investment at the time of its first site, has been growing organically since the opening of its sixth location. “We have generated enough revenue now to safely open I think one Honi Poke every one to two months,” he said.
Within the capital, the Hawaiian-inspired Poke business is pushing outside its existing zones 1 and 2 heartland. Martynov said he was looking to offer on sites in Chiswick and Wimbledon and would look to expand in more densely populated residential areas in order to take advantage on the increasing number of people working from home.
The strong trading seen from its Battersea and Angel sites in lockdown – which are near the more residential areas of Clapham and Islington – has prompted it to explore similar opportunities.
Martynov said that while lockdown had been hard, with its sites in the City bearing the brunt of the lack of officer workers, it had also been “a time of opportunity” due to the deals it had managed to achieve on some of its new units.
Honi Poke was founded by Martynov and his business partner at the time Kosta Varesko, in 2017, with its first site opening in Dean Street, Soho.
