David Hall, managing director of Innis & Gunn Retail, has told MCA he believes there is scope for eight of its Beer Kitchen bars in Scotland and strong potential in the rest of the UK and internationally.
The group is set to open its third Beer Kitchen in the former Glass House restaurant in St Andrew, Scotland next month.
The group has also secured a site in Glasgow – its biggest to date, which will house a five-hectolitre micro-brewery, which will supply beers across the estate. Hall said the group was close to securing the site and hoped to open in spring 2017. He said a separate brewer would be sought for the site.
The group has also secured its first international site – in Toronto, Canada. Hall said there was potential for a rollout of Beer Kitchen across Canada – until recently its biggest market for its beer – and that the next international target was likely to be Sweden.
He said: “We’ve only going for just over a year with the Beer Kitchen, so it’s early days but we are really pleased with the progress from the first three sites. We’re looking at double the number of Christmas bookings in our first site, in Edinburgh, so that gives you an idea of the growth we’re seeing.”
Hall said the group was now actively considering expansion in the rest of the UK.
He said: “We know we need to strengthen our infrastructure south of the border but there’s strong traction for the Innis & Gunn brand and Beer Kitchen is definitely a model that can work across the UK.”
On further growth in Scotland, he said: “St Andrew is a great location for us but there’s still lots for us to go at in Scotland. We think we can comfortably have eight in Scotland without people getting fed up with us. I still think there’s scope for a flagship site – probably in Edinburgh.”
The Beer Kitchen St Andrews will also continue the concept’s bar-come-restaurant model in which the brewer offers menus designed with beer at the very heart of them. This model has proven to be popular with craft beer fans, with food representing 40% of Innis & Gunn’s retail business sales.
Dougal Sharp, founder and master brewer at Innis & Gunn, said: “Each new Beer Kitchen gives us a chance to introduce great craft beer to a new audience. We want our Beer Kitchens to be known as spaces where amazing beer and food can be enjoyed. It’s always rewarding to bring this to another town and I’m looking forward to giving St Andrews a new place to enjoy craft beer.”
