Just Falafel has appointed Mike Biggins, who has extensive experience in international restaurant operations, as its first UK and Ireland chief executive to lead the rollout of the falafel concept across Britain, M&C Report has learnt.
Biggins, who previously worked for McDonald’s in the US, Western Europe and Latin America and oversaw brands such as Burger King and Pizza Hut in the UK and Kuwait under Kout Food Group, told M&C Report that 12 franchisees have already committed to opening 30 Just Falafel sites.
The first opened in December in London’s Covent Garden and a second opens today (Tuesday) in Baker Street, with a third in Hammersmith next Monday. Biggins expects to have five in operation by June.
“My goal is to have about 100 restaurants open within Greater London within the next three years. The only obstacle to that is to find good property,” said Biggins.
Unlike Covent Garden, the Hammersmith site will include a full sit-down restaurant and Biggins the company would decide on a site-by-site basis whether to have much seating. He suggested that outlets near offices may be suited to more of a “grab and go” format, whereas sites in residential areas, shopping centres or near universities are more likely to have seating. The decision would be “driven by the customer”.
“My strategy for growth is around finding who our target customer is and what kind of restaurant experience they are looking for.”
He added: “We want to have the look and feel, the style, of Pret or Eat or even Chipotle, but obviously still have the traditional fast food service style.”
Biggins said Just Falafel would target openings outside the M25 in the later half of 2014, although it would look outside Greater London “opportunistically” before then. For example, the company is about to sign a deal to open in Cambridge. Just Falafel had previously said it wanted to open 200 UK sites over the next five years.
Asked what attracted him to the role, Biggins said: “The opportunity to help a brand get started in a new country, and a brand that’s at the cutting edge of the food scene, doesn’t come around very often.”
He said there’s growing interest in vegetarian meals in the UK, helped by the horsemeat scandal and campaigning from the likes of high-profile chef Jamie Oliver.
Beggins, who has dual British/American nationality, began his professional career at McDonald’s where he worked in areas such as operations, human resources and labour relations, training and development and site development in the United States, Western Europe, and Latin America.
He then joined the MetroMedia Restaurant Group, operator of the Bennigan’s Irish/American Bar and Grill brand, leading its franchise business in Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and Canada, before becoming division vice president of International House of Pancakes, the US family dining chain, where he was responsible for half of its American business.
Beggins later formed the Urban Restaurant Group with two partners to develop a new restaurant concept in California and Chicago, before becoming chief operating officer of Kout Food Group, where he was responsible for 175 restaurants representing 11 concepts in Kuwait and the UK.
