Grillstock, the fledgling barbecue concept, is understood to have lined up at least three further openings as it looks to grow its national presence, M&C Report understands.
The three-strong group, which is led by John Finch and Ben Merrington, and includes Turtle Bay founder Ajith Jaya-Wickrema as a backer, has secured sites in Liverpool and Walthamstow for opening later this year.
It is also believed to be in talks on sites in Leicester and Southampton.
The group has applied for a licence to open at the Produce Exchange in Liverpool and at The Scene development in Walthamstow.
It currently operates two sites in Bristol and one in Bath.
Last year, Andre Plisnier, the co-founder of the Belgo brand, joined its board. Plisnier founded Belgo in 1992 with Denis Blais, before selling the business six years later by Luke Johnson.
The first Grillstock Smokehouse opened at Triangle West in Bristol’s Park Street in June 2013.
Last summer, Merrington told M&C Report that the group was looking to roll out its concept and had identified a number of target cities.
He said: “We will be looking to scale up fairly quick and move out of Bristol. There’s Cardiff, Reading, and then [we would] follow that sort of route.”
