Friday five: the week's top restaurant stories
- Northern-based restaurant group Mission Mars was the big winner at this year's R200 Awards, which took place this week. The group behind the Albert’s Schloss and Rudy’s pizza brands took home gongs in the Best New Opening category as well as for Restaurant Group of the Year over 20 sites. Albert’s Schloss London, the group’s ambitious site on Shaftesbury Avenue that opened in the summer, beat off strong competition to claim the title of Best New Opening. The largest of the group’s Alpine cook haus and Bavarian bier palaces, the venue was recently described by Grace Dent in the Guardian as a ‘stroke of genius’. Mission Mars was also named Restaurant Group of the Year over 20 sites following a stellar performance. The company has built a strong estate of restaurants in the capital under its Rudy’s brand and recently reported revenue growth of 51% in its 2023 accounts.
- Dishoom has appointed advisors as its seeks an investor to help fund a move into the US. The Indian restaurant group, led by co-founders Shamil and Kavi Thakrar and CEO Brian Trollip, has identified the US as an area for expansion and is starting to look for locations across the pond, with New York the front runner. The group says it is seeking an investor or partner to fund the move, as well as provide expertise and advice as it looks to enter the US market. “We’re taking the opportunity to talk to people to help us think it through and we’re beginning to take some advice,” says Shamil. “We’re now talking to an advisor and we’re probably going to be raising some money to help us fund the endeavour.”
- Bristol-based operator Sandwich Sandwich has unveiled plans to open ‘the biggest sandwich shop in the UK’ near London’s Fenchurch Street. The 3,500sq ft site will be located on Mark Lane in the City of London and will open in ‘either December or January’ according to Joshua Kleiner, head of operations and marketing at the sandwich business. The new site will be Sandwich Sandwich’s fifth site, joining its three venues in Bristol and one on London’s Gresham Street, which opened in the summer and led to large queues of customers in the opening months.
- Michael O'Hare’s Michelin-starred Leeds restaurant The Man Behind The Curtain, which later traded under the name Psycho Sandbar, was wound up having accumulated debts of close to £1m. According to a statement of affairs filed to Companies House this week, the restaurant had an estimated total deficiency of £993,684, with the largest single creditor being HMRC, which is owed £519,000. A further £366,848 is owed to Relentless Leisure Limited, which is owned by footballer Gary Neville. Neville's role as a director in the business, which he was appointed to in 2018, was terminated on 24 September this year. O'Hare announced back in October that he had closed his Psycho Sandbar restaurant, just seven months after launching it on the site that previously housed The Man Behind The Curtain.
- Bee Emmott has been appointed as chief executive of high-profile hospitality group Artfarm, replacing Ewan Venters. Emmott will take over the role from 1 January 2025, with Venters remaining in place for the remainder of the year. It comes after Venters revealed in September that he was stepping down as CEO of the business following a row that accused Artfarm of presiding over a ‘destruction’ of Soho private members club The Groucho, which it acquired back in 2022.
For more of this week's headlines, click here.
