Bodean’s BBQ, the Andre Blais-led chain, is to further strengthened its presence in the capital, after securing a site in Muswell Hill, north London.
MCA understands that the seven-strong group has taken on the former Giraffe unit at 348 Muswell Hill Broadway for an open in mid-October.
Earlier this year, the group opened on the former Mishkin’s site in Covent Garden.
Blais told MCA earlier this year that he was actively looking for suitable venues for the restaurant to make a regional debut.
Having established a centralised production kitchen in London, Blais wants the first restaurant to be close enough to be supplied for the main smoker and is considering Brighton, St Albans and cities in the southeast with the right demographic.
To give the brand a truly national presence, Bodean’s would create a cluster of restaurants in the south - serviced from a centralised kitchen to smoke the meats used in the restaurants.
This would be mirrored with a cluster of sites in cities in the north of England, where Blais said he is interested in Manchester, Nottingham, Leeds and Scotland with Edinburgh a future target.
Blais added there is funding in place for the expansion, which he anticipates will continue at one to two sites each year.
Since he founded Bodean’s in 2002 Blais has opened restaurants in Clapham, Balham, Tower Hill, Fulham, Soho and Old Street.
