Chris Miller, the founder of White Rabbit Fund, backers of Kricket, Island Poke, Lina Stores and Kym’s, has told MCA “the days the 30-store rollout are dead”.
Miller said the new generation of sophisticated consumers lose interest in concepts that expanded too aggressively with a ‘cookie-cutter roll out’, and said the onus was on operators to create multiple, distinctive and authentic brands targeted to their location.
He said there were still big opportunities for growth, though said he saw greater opportunities for flexible diffusion concepts, citing the possibility of a spin-off from the recently launched pasta bar from Lina Stores.
Miller said he saw great potential in Kym’s, Andrew Wong’s restaurant at Bloomberg Arcade, which he hoped could do for Chinese cuisine what Dishoom has done for Indian.
As well as a large casual dining restaurant, Kym’s will have a takeaway hatch, with dishes already tested at Deliveroo Editions in Bethnal Green, with Wong’s The Chinese Takeaway.
Meanwhile he said the demand for property and premiums had dropped off significantly in the past 12 months, with competition for prime sites going from 20-odd operators to as little as two, making it “an incredibly exciting time to be in the restaurant business”.
