Ex-Tragus director Frederic Lluch has stepped down as UK managing director of Obica, the international mozzarella bar chain, to become national operations director at Wasabi.
At the same time, MCA understands that Raimondo Boggia, chief executive of Obica USA, has joined the board of the brand’s five-strong UK business.
Lluch had been managing director of Obica UK since November 2014, after spending nearly seven years as regional operations director at Tragus.
On joining Wasabi, he said: “I am looking forward to the role at Wasabi and to get to know my new colleagues. There are lots of exciting opportunities and challenges in the pipeline for the company which I am proud to be a part of. Joining a company that prides itself on high standards and attention to detail is extremely important to me and I look forward to helping Wasabi maintain its prestigious name.”
Dong Hyun Kim, chairman and founder of Wasabi, said: “I am delighted to welcome Frederic into the Wasabi family. As we continue to expand, his experience and expertise will be crucial in ensuring our ever-growing operations run smoothly. I am confident that with Frederic on board, Wasabi will continue to provide customers with a consistently high standard of food and service.”
Wasabi recently opened its 45th UK branch and its second site in New York.
It will shortly open new branches at Lime Street and Ealing Broadway in May with an expansion to Oxford lined up for later in the summer. The company has recently entered a partnership with the housing and homelessness charity Shelter.
Obica, whose main shareholders are NEO Capital and founder Silvio Ursini, currently operates c25 restaurants in Italy, Turkey, Japan and the US. It opened new sites in New York and Dubai last year.
The group launched its first UK site in Canary Wharf at the end of 2011 and opened its second site in the UK in South Kensington in 2013, followed by openings in Charlotte Street, St Paul’s and Poland Street.
