Sarah Weir, former operations director at Davy’s, is to head up Ruth & Robinson, the Imbiba-backed, fledgling Brooklyn-inspired bar concept, M&C has learnt.
Weir, who was previously commercial director of Bramwell Pub Company, joins the group, which operates The Fourteenth Colonie in Clerkenwell, after Paul Garner, the concept’s co-founder stepped down.
M&C understands that Ruth & Robinson is currently in talks on a further site in north London.
Weir joins Jillian MacLean (Drake & Morgan) and Mel Marriott (Darwin & Wallace) in being ex- Mitchells & Butlers employees, who oversee or have overseen Imbiba-backed groups.
Last year, Weir, who was also previously head of food and drink innovation at PizzaExpress became the first female director since the 1950s to join the board of London-based wine bar operator Davy’s.
The Fourteenth Colonie, serves 45 beers and is expanding its on-tap range and looking to collaborate with more brewers for special events to showcase the beers.
The Imbiba-backed group has plans to open eight London venues with a structured rollout plan to open the second site before the end of this year followed by three bars opening in 2016, two in 2017 and one in 2018, which will hopefully place the group in an attractive position for a potential buyer.
Earlier this summer, Imbiba said that Ruth & Robinson was beginning to gain momentum at its first site the Fourteenth Colonie and reported a smaller EBITDA loss than expected. It said that Ruth & Robinson’s initial site had taken a while to get some traction, but added there is “plenty of work going on behind the scenes”.
