Barrio Bars is set to open its second site in Soho, after securing a site in Kingly Court, M&C has learnt.
The three-strong group is set to open Barrio Regio on the current Bitter Sweet cocktail bar in the scheme.
The company, which plans to open two to three new bars a year going forward, will also open Barrio South on the Veranda bar site at 30 Acre Lane, Brixton before the end of the year
Founder Ferdie Ahmed told M&C last week, that the group planned to consolidate its position in London before rolling out across the UK, with Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds all potential targets.
He said the next two bars, which are both due to open this year, would be self-funded, as the existing three bars have been. However, he said he and fellow directors Ani Kyriacou and Sat Ghuman were exploring various external funding options to accelerate further growth.
The group has appointed Ernesto Paiva, previously head chef at Bubble Dogs as its new group executive chef. Ahmed said he would like to have a greater focus on food across the estate, which currently records a c90/10 wet/dry split.
He said: “Going forward we would like to be seen as Barrio Cantina and Cocktails. I look at the guys like Blues Kitchen and I really like the way they have kept their reputation for spirits but are now also known for the quality of their food.”
Davis Coffer Lyons (DCL) acted on the Kingly Court site.
