The Restaurant People Group (RPG), which operates the La Tasca chain, is testing a restaurant concept that could be rolled out as a second brand, M&C has learnt.
Sticking to a Spanish theme, the company has opened La Vina (The Vineyard) in Hale near Manchester and is looking at a second site in Liverpool.
The restaurant is targeted at an older customer profile. Like its La Tasca sister brand, tapas is the main offer but the menu also includes entrees, a fresh-food counter plus a more extensive wine list, sourced from Spain.
Chief executive James Horler said: "La Vina is aimed at a more discerning, slightly older customer.
"It has been very well received and we are confident that it has real potential. Clearly we want a second brand but we are not in any rush.
"We want to establish something that strengthens our position as the number one operator of Spanish restaurants in the UK. It’s in the development phase but it is extremely encouraging."
The Hale unit, a leasehold site assigned to RPG from Mitchells & Butlers, is about 2,800sq ft with 90 covers, although Horler said the next site would be bigger. The development cost was in the region of £300,000, about half the cost of a normal La Tasca site.
The initial food-drink sales split is around 55-45% compared with La Tasca, which is typically 65-35%. Horler said the increased wet percentage at La Vina was practically all wine.
The company will open the second La Vina in Liverpool before Christmas.
It is also pressing ahead with the expansion of its main La Tasca brand. Plymouth has just opened, Aberdeen will follow at the end of September and building work has just commenced at York. Watford will also open this side of Christmas.
Horler said La Tasca had the potential to become a 100-site restaurant brand.
