- Tommy Banks has lost £25,000 of stock after a van carrying handmade pies he planned to sell was stolen. The van, which was subsequently found ‘badly damaged’, contained 2,500 pies, which were to be sold under his Tommy’s Pie Shop brand at a Christmas market in York. The pies were still in the van when it was found by police, but had also been damaged and, like the van, had to be written off.
- Samyukta Nair and Claude Bosi have closed their Mayfair restaurant Socca after less than two years trading. The pair said they have immensely enjoyed their partnership, and it is with a heavy heart that they had decided to close the restaurant. “It is with great sadness that we have decided to close Socca,” Nair said. “I have loved working with Claude on this project, and it has been an incredible journey for me and all the team. Watching so many diners come through our doors has brought me so much joy, and I want to say a huge thank you for dining with us over the last two years.”
- Spanish restaurant group Ibérica has filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators. Sky News reports that the group, which operates several restaurants in the UK, the bulk of them in the capital, filed the notice on Tuesday (3 December), with RSM understood to have been lined up to handle the insolvency. Restaurant has contacted Ibérica for comment, while a spokeswoman for RSM told Sky News the firm was unable to comment.
- Trinity chef Adam Byatt will launch a modern British brasserie at upcoming West London development Fulham Pier in spring next year. Brasserie Constance will offer an à la carte menu and a set lunch menus comprised of ‘approachable, immaculately executed seasonal dishes’. On the second level of the development, the restaurant is named after and to some extent inspired by cookery writer, florist and ceramicist Constance Spry. Brasserie Constance will be complemented by Flo, a riverside cocktail bar,featuring a dedicated small-plates menu.
- The Ottolenghi group says it is continuing to explore expansion outside of Zone 1 and 2 in London, with a new site in Richmond set to open next year. It comes as the group posted a pre-tax loss of £941,725 in its latest financial results for the year ended 31 March 2024, down from a profit of £769,671 in 2023. Ottolenghi, which operates several cafés across London under its eponymous brand alongside higher spend one-offs Nopi in Soho and Rovi in Fitzrovia, described the year as being defined by ‘operational growth’ It opened its first site outside of London, in Bicester Village, during the period, as well its first in the capital to be outside of Zones 1 and 2 in Hampstead. The new site openings drove an 11.1% rise in turnover, from £27.8m to £30.9m. However, an expansion in central costs related to various initiatives including the development of a new website, combined with increased cost pressures including a rise in utilities and the National Minimum Wage, meant that EBITDA before pre-opening costs dropped from £2.8m to £1.7m over the period.
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