Craft Beer Co, the specialist beer bar concept launched by award-winning licensee Martin Hayes, is looking to move to the “next level” this year, with further expansion, including another regional opening, M&C Report has learnt.
Hayes said: “I expect us to add at least one more site in the capital this year as well as venturing out into the regions - you can’t ignore people’s thirst for craft beer in places such as Manchester and Leeds and we’re very confident in delivering our promise to the consumer.”
The group currently operates sites in Clerkenwell, Islington, Brixton and Brighton.
Hayes said: “In setting-up our first four sites we’ve been through a huge learning curve - we’ve made a few mistakes, but we’ve got more right than we’ve got wrong and we’ve turned our learning into a firm vision of what sites we’re searching for this year and into the future.
“Since arriving at the start of the Craft Beer movement we’ve taken two sites from Greene King and one from Enterprise - obviously free of tie. I expect more of this style of deal going forward - we’re open to talks with potential landlords, but we’re very particular about the site and whilst our offering seems to be widely popular, I don’t necessarily agree with the arrogance that some businesses have when declaring ‘build in and they will come. We’ll be prudent about our site selection and tough on terms, but we do feel we can shine light in venues that may be considered ‘problem sites’ in bigger portfolios.”
