This week’s exclusive Diary includes a royal link for McDonald’s, YO! Sushi proving a hit in Norway, Chicago getting a pizza the action thanks to Soho House, and what’s in a name for Ooberstock?
Queen’s feast
Diary is hoping that the recent nice weather continues over the Jubilee weekend, as the nation takes to pub gardens and street parties to celebrate the 60 years of the Queen being on the throne. In her honour, we would like to throw in our one sector-related fact regarding her majesty, which is that she is the owner of a drive-thru McDonald’s on the Bath Road Retail Park in Slough. The fast food site is part of the Queen’s Crown Estate and is apparently visible from her state apartments at Windsor Castle. We wonder if she can fit one of those processional carriages through the drive-thru?
YO! going down well in Oslo
Earlier this year, YO! Sushi, the privately-owned group led by Robin Rowland, made its debut in Norway at Oslo Airport, through a link up with SSP, which could eventually see the chain enter a number of new overseas territories. If the success of the initial link up is anything to go by then it should prove a fruitful partnership, as Diary hears that in under four months of being open, the Oslo site is one of the sushi chain’s top five performing outlets.
Pizza Windy City
Soho House Group, the bar, restaurant and private members club company owned by Richard Caring and headed by Nick Jones, will open a third site in London for its pizzeria concept, Pizza East later this year. However, it is thought that the group has more ambitious plans for the brand than the former Grand Union bar site in Kentish Town. It is thought that the group has lined up Chicago Soho House as one of the first places to try Pizza East overseas. The Windy City will just have to wait until the venue’s opening in spring 2014.
Keeping it Real
Earlier this month, we reported that Rivington Street Holdings (RSH), the Isle of Man-based financial services group, had agreed to sell the Real Man Pizza Company Limited (RMPC), which currently comprises one restaurant in London’s Clerkenwell, to Tom Winnifrith, its former group director of strategy. A report out yesterday showed that operating losses at the restaurant stood at £41,000 before its disposal. As RSH put it: “The restaurant venture was misguided”. Not to put too fine a point on it!
Wasabi worldwide
We have a confession to make. In most cases if we get sent a release regarding new oven technology we tend to put it straight in the bin or send it on to our colleagues at Restaurant Magazine. However, a recent release from Samsung regarding one of their new devices caught our eye before we could hit the delete button. Unfortunately, it wasn’t about the oven but about the operator who was extolling its virtues, the secretive Wasabi. According to the release, there are now 27 Wasabi sites in London, two more than we had at the last count, and the company has plans to expand, including overseas. Interest piqued, we asked Samsung for some more information on their operator of choice. Unsurprisingly we are still waiting for a reply.
Now that’s Oober-clear
A big day for wholesalers today, with news that Booker is to buy rival Makro’s UK operations for £139m. This morning also saw the launch of Ooberstock, a new-style wholesale business, chaired by ex-Enterprise Inns MD and AB InBev UK & Ireland boss Colin Pedrick. Diary was intrigued to hear about the origins of the name. If one assumes the first part to be a deliberate misspelling of the German word ‘uber’, it literally translates as “over-stock”, which seems ironic for a firm that has no stock of its own. Managing director Arran Heal said ‘oober’ is generally regarded as a positive superlative nowadays, while it’s also easy to find via search engines.
Casual at the Corinthian
GI’s Group’s Corinthian Club, the 1,800-capacity behemoth in central Glasgow, is a sight to behold. The five-floor, 14-room site is grandeur personified, although Diary was interested to hear that G1 is keen to ensure that there’s no sense of stuffiness for customers. Speaking at the MA250 business seminar last week, G1’s David Tracey said there’s no dress code for staff, adding that they’re also “never told to say sir or madam - it’s the Corinthian Club law”.
