Jane O’Riordan: ‘Being part of growing businesses is fantastic’

Now splitting her time between chairing Turtle Bay, Red Engine and Caravan, Jane O’Riordan says “there’s no such thing as a typical day.”

Speaking at MCA’s Restaurant Conference, she told delegates, “Everyday changes and I think that is what keeps me working in this role - this sector is so exciting.

Despite operating different models, with varied consumer propositions, O’Riordan said the Caribbean-inspired bar and kitchen, experiential leisure concept and all-day dining brand, “have three things in common”.

“They have very strong leadership teams. They also have very distinctive consumer propositions which lead the sub sector they operate in, and all three of them are growing.

“Being part of growing businesses is fantastic.”

Reflecting on stepping into the roles at a critical moment, pre-pandemic, she said, “it was very brutal at the time.”

“You went from trading flat out, to braking, and that braking was very hard.

O’Riordan says that the three distinct companies are bound to benefit from her work across them, through spreading learnings and best practices.

The road to reopening, recovery and what she now calls “the resilience phase”, has been helped by this holistic approach.

“We just made sure that when things got really tough that we focused on doing what we do well,” adding “I think that is what has kept our heads above water.”

O’Riordan was involved in several major sector deals through her role at Yellowwoods, including the acquisitions of PizzaExpress in 2003, ASK and Zizzi in 2005, and Gourmet Burger Kitchen in 2010.

Rebuilding those businesses and helping grow them stronger has been “incredibly rewarding”, she told delegates.

After 22 years working with Nando’s, formerly as group strategy director, she describes the fast-casual chain as a “phenomenal business”.

“It is an inspired brand, led by some very capable leadership”, she said, adding “I’m hoping that there is some peri-peri still somewhere in my veins.

The casual dining scene has, “changed quite a lot” during O’Riordan’s time in the industry.

Not only in the “quality and breadth of the food”, but also in the “spaces and the ambience we create.”

The biggest change, however, is the focus on the people, says O’Riordan.

“Over the last 25 years we have all realised just how important our teams are.”

“I have been very fortunate; the sector is blessed with real talent. As I have been from business to business it never ceases to amaze me the breadth of that.”

Founded by the “inspirational” Ajith Jaya-Wickrema, also behind Las Iguanas, who led the business until around 2020 and gave the brand its distinctive operating model.

“It is not a restaurant; it is not a bar. It is a hybrid”, said O’Riordan.

“It sits in that wonderful 50/50 space,” which means it can ride both drinks-led, and dining-led trends.

“It makes it a unique operating model, and a very profitable model.”

The brand has really transformed since Covid, said O’Riordan, with the big push to go out and socialise, “it was just in the right place at the right time.”

“There’s something about that combination of good times that Turtle Bay offers that is absolutely in the zeitgeist of what we are doing today. And value is important, as we all know.”

Equally, Caravan’s unique operating model has allowed it to remain resilient.

The London brand currently has three store formats: small restaurants, larger spaces, and Brewbars. Its coffee business – started at the same time as Caravan Restaurants, 12 years ago also has significant brand visibility outside the capital.

“Does resilience come from being omnichannel, I would argue that it does, certainly in Caravan’s case.”

During Covid, the brand went back to its roots as a coffee brand, diversifying to a direct-to-consumer model.

“The breadth of customers that we are now supplying through the coffee business has just grown and grown.”

“The restaurants, because of this backbone of coffee, have been able to morph and flex into slightly different footprints. Not just big flagships but also smaller formats.

However, O’Riordan stresses, “we are not omnichannel for omnichannel’s sake.”

Meanwhile, Red Engine’s Flight Club and Electric Shuffle concepts continue to deliver “exceptional experiences”, according to its chair.

“Because we constantly over-delight and surpass expectations, the return visits have been increasing.”

While she continues to have several other non-exec and advisory roles, O’ Riordan is an NED at Octopus Titan VCT, the UK’s largest technology investor.

O’ Riordan maintained that the hospitality sector has been “fundamentally slow to adopt tech innovation.”

However, she is keen to see businesses implement innovation that targets labour productivity, workflow management and administrative ease.

“Any technology that is deigned to make our teams lives easier, is much stickier.”

“We should all be focusing on systems which enable our teams to do less of the mundane jobs and deploy more of their time into the value-added front of house jobs, where we want them to interact with our guests.”