GB Pizza Co, the restaurant concept set to launch its first franchised site in Didsbury, is looking for franchisees to help it open six sites over the next three years, MCA has learnt.
Co-founder Rachel Seed, a chef and former food writer, said the business was looking for “dynamic and creative” people to open new sites in up and coming neighbourhoods of city suburbs and towns.
Seed said an opening in London’s Exmouth Market, which they left after 12 months, was a learning curve for the business, and showed them they did not want high street stores.
Seed said they hoped to open a second restaurant in Kent, following the debut in Margate five years ago, with Bristol also a city of interest, and plan for three new sites next year.
She said: “How many we open all depends on finding the right people. We are looking for Looking for dynamic, creative types, rather than someone who is looking to buy Domino’s purely for a financial investment
“We are hoping to open three next year, and half a dozen over the next three years.”
The Margate restaurant has a vivid colour scheme and kitschy interior, with franchisees encouraged to create their own style.
GB Pizza Co uses primarily local and British ingredients, with a thin crispy pizza crust, with the dough made to their recipe by a third party.
It has a counter or self-service, with wine and prosecco on tap and customers able to refill their own glasses, a relic from the brand’ days as a mobile food truck operation.
Seed said: “The service is stripped back and quite basic, which keeps overheads down and allows us to keep prices reasonable. It creates a very unique atmosphere in the restaurants.”
On the move into London, she added: “Central London restaurant was just not us. While we weren’t losing money, we didn’t enjoy it, we weren’t part of a neighbourhood community. We felt it wasn’t worth having our money tied up in that site.
“But it’s been really valuable and taught us who we are as a business, and so we know exactly where we want to be moving forward.”
