Having opened the first franchised Benito’s store at London Luton Airport in December, CEO Mike Pearson is keen to move the brand forward in the QSR space with plans for two or three franchised store openings this year.
Benito’s, formerly known as Benito’s Hat, first launched back in 2008 and at its peak operated up to eleven sites.
However, the brand was sold to Elangeni Hospitality in a pre-pack administration deal, in March 2020.
Pearson tells MCA that it was “devastating” to shutter several Benito’s sites in recent years.
“It’s been a real crusade of mine to keep the brand alive and to revitalize it”, he says.
Benito’s now operates a single site within Westgate Oxford shopping centre, with its latest airport site in partnership with Airport Retail Enterprises UK (ARE) bringing the estate to two.
It now plans to open two or three more franchised stores this year.
“We spent a lot of time working on the brand, but we’ve been through as much pain as anybody else.
“We’ve paid off the majority of any debt that we had - sometimes you have to break it to remake it.”
Pearson says that the franchise route will make up “the bulk of future growth”, adding that proof of concept at an airport location has “opened some doors”, with approaches from several major franchise operators.
“I think that’s very encouraging, but we will also look at company-owned”, he adds.
Having exited London due to the “toxicity of trading” in the capital during the Covid years, he is not ruling it out for future openings.
“That doesn’t mean that London doesn’t still offer us a great opportunity going forward.”
Benito’s is also “actively working with” ARE on future tenders for major UK airports.
With previous experience working with SSP, Pearson says the move was “always something I wanted to do”.
“It felt like a really good time for us and, fortunately enough we were successful.”
Location-wise, the brand remains opportunity led, with company-owned stores likely to centre in and around the West Midlands.
Meanwhile, franchise deals could pop up further afield, with a focus on the South East.
“We’re keen on moving forward in QSR”, added Pearson, describing a move away from Benito’s established casual-dining image.
“I think that’s not that’s not where we really want to be focusing our growth.
“We’re very much focused on a really good, fresh product, delivered at speed - that’s really where our niche is.”
Its Luton site now incorporates self-order kiosks – “a big step forward” for the brand’s expansion plan.
“I’m still very keen on that personal element of service, and being able to explain Mexican food to people.
“But I think the majority of our customers understand the basics and really just want to be able to navigate their own order process.”
In terms of brand image, Pearson says Benito’s is now “a little less serious”, with a more colourful, lively personality.
Finishing the financial year up 15.5% in like-for-likes, the Westgate Oxford site is “performing incredibly well”.
“That’s been driven by volume of visits as opposed to price.
“It’s not spend driven, it’s driven by more footfall into the trading area which I think is really encouraging for future growth.”
Elangeni Hospitality also has plans to expand new brand, Moco, which operates a Loungers-style café-bar in Hinckley, and is seeking a second site in the Midlands.
Elsewhere, it is in discussions to open OX1 Pizza, a pizza slice brand set for Oxford.
“We’ve been quite opportunistic, but I think what we’re trying to do is build brands that have the potential to roll out”, says Pearson.
