Three Uncles will consider “all corners of London” for future expansion with plans to open two to three more sites in 2024.
The Cantonese roast meat (Siu Mei) concept has revealed that its fifth site will open in Ealing later this year, operating a “casual table- service” format.
Childhood friends and chefs Chong Yew, Pui Sing Tsang and Mo Kwok first opened a small takeaway kiosk in Liverpool Street in 2019, specialising in homemade chopped-to-order Cantonese Roast Duck, Crispy Pork Belly and Char Siu Pork.
The business has been inspired by the trio’s almost daily habit of spending hours at Siu Mei spots whilst growing up together in Hong Kong in the 1970s.
Pui Sing Tsang tells MCA that today, he is confident in the brand’s two proven models, comprising quick-service counter operations in Liverpool Street and St Paul’s, and a restaurant format in Brixton.
The latter is best suited to residential areas that are not likely to have a big grab and go demand, he adds, but the business plans to use both formats for future sites, dependent on location.
Tsang says that the next venture will therefore be, “much more suited to the weekend and evening trade seen in the Ealing neighbourhood.”
“We have found the QSR format to be more profitable mainly due to lower staff costs versus turnover associated with running these formats.
“But we believe there are only a limited number of busy enough locations that this format can truly work, which is why it is good to have a sit-down table service option”, he adds.
Across the board, Tsang notes that as a key trend, Fridays are a lot quieter in office locations than they used to be – “otherwise our demand is fairly stable throughout the week.”
The brand is not looking to add any further food hall locations, although it currently operates out of Hawley Wharf in Camden.
“Three Uncles Camden has proven to work; however, we are not looking for further food hall locations.
“We feel the leases are short, the rents and commissions are often far too high for the space provided and we would rather stand on our own feet and invest in growing our independent sites,” says Tsang.
Three Uncles most recent site opening in St Paul’s has had a “very positive start” so far.
“The lunch trade has been busier than we expected, however evening and weekends are proving to be more challenging, as likely in an office location.”
“One lesson that we are learning is to juggle our Deliveroo between sites without ‘cannabilising’ and taking delivery sales from our other sites of Liverpool Street and Camden,” Tsang adds.
Currently, delivery makes up 20-50% of the business, dependent on site, and the co-founder believes that the menu offering “travels well” and is differentiated, with a “focus on quality.”
Discussing how the brand has evolved since opening in 2019, Tsang says that aside from a rapid rise in delivery since the pandemic, and a steady increase in trade, Three Uncles has stayed “fundamentally the same throughout.”
“Our focus remains on providing high quality Cantonese food to the masses but with focus on authenticity and a very tight menu using guarded recipes that have been passed down generations.
“We believe that makes us a highly differentiated offering to the usual suspects.
The business plans to keep its menu “simple”, with the potential to add further dishes which are unique to each location.
“At its heart, our brand is based on a core menu of roast meats that can be customised with different combinations and we do not want to lose that focus.
“The majority of our menu takes dozens of steps to get to that finished dish, as is the traditional method.”
