Hotel Openings

🍔 Azzurri Group plans to open 60 Dave’s Hot Chicken outlets in the UK, starting Q1 2025 in London. Bundobust to shut its Birmingham location on July 14th. Pizza Express tests new 'Pod' concept in Tesco, Bursledon. Chef Jakob Grant debuts Cherub’s in Deal, Kent, with 27 seats. Patrick Powell leaves The Midland Grand Dining Room and Allegra, concluding service on July 14th.

🏖️ The Potlatch Club, Eleuthera's first luxury boutique hotel, emerged from a seven-year renovation led by owners Bruce Loshusan and Hans Febles since discovering the property in 2016. The 11-key establishment, set on 12 acres, fronts a seven-mile pink sand beach, offering a variety of accommodations including historic suites, garden cottages, and a four-bedroom ocean view villa with butler service. Amenities include the Fig Tree restaurant, Pavilion Bar, spa, pool, and gym.

🍴 Chef Santiago Lastra and MJMK Restaurants are set to open Fonda, a new Mexican restaurant in Mayfair, London, in September. The establishment will occupy two floors offering traditional Mexican dishes inspired by family recipes. Utilizing heirloom corn from Tamoa, the kitchen will prepare fresh tortillas daily. The menu includes unique salsas, sikil pak, trout ceviche, comal dishes like costras and baja tacos, seasonal specials, and traditional desserts with British twists. The restaurant will also serve agave-based cocktails with a paloma section, reinvented classic cocktails using British ingredients, and a curated wine list from small producers.

🍕 Sticks'n’Sushi, a Danish-Japanese group, is opening a new 120-cover, 3,500sq ft restaurant in Islington, North London, in September, creating 50 local jobs. The Islington venue marks their first venture into North London, following a Richmond opening in May. The brand secured a £22m loan from OakNorth for UK expansion after being valued at €80m (£68m) during a January acquisition by McWin Capital Partners. Founded in Copenhagen in 1994, the group now operates 28 restaurants across Copenhagen, Berlin, and the UK.

🍺 JKS Restaurants is set to launch their third London pub, The Hound, on 17 July, occupying a former police station in Chiswick. It will join The George in Fitzrovia and The Cadogan Arms in Chelsea. The Hound will feature a pub, two private dining rooms with one seating 18 guests, a covered courtyard, a south-facing terrace, and will serve lunch, dinner, and bar snacks daily. In August, four boutique guest rooms will open. Executive chef John Sparks and culinary director James Knappett will offer a menu with British pub classics and exclusive dishes.

🍗 Dave’s Hot Chicken, founded by Dave Kopushyan, Arman Oganesyan, and Tommy Rubenyan in 2017, will open its first UK location in London in Q1 2025. The chain has over 200 restaurants and plans to open 90+ more in 2022. With seven spice levels, their menu includes hot chicken sliders and sides like mac and cheese. Backed by Samuel L. Jackson and Usher, the Los Angeles-born brand has sold rights to over 700 franchises in the US, Middle East, and Canada. Azzurri Group, with a portfolio including Zizzi and ASK Italian, will operate the UK expansion.

🍴 Founders Laurence Stevens and Francis Sweeney will open Salt Shed at West Pier in Brighton, joining Church Street's inaugural site and concessions at Boxpark Shoreditch and Herne Hill. Salt Shed features BBQ-glazed pastrami steak, Cornish lamb chump, and chocolate salted caramel brownie. The restaurant occupies a site previously launched as Murmur by Michael Bremner and Carla Grassy in 2017.

🍤 Catch, a seafood dining concept, opened in Miami Beach on May 10, near Carbone and Prime One Twelve. Spanning 23,000 square feet, it features both indoor and rooftop dining designed by Rockwell Group. The menu includes seafood and steaks, with ingredients like Toyosu market fish. The Catch Hospitality Group plans to open in Dallas by the end of 2024 and in Scottsdale in early 2025, following their expansion strategy based on business-friendly markets and the right customer base.

🍗 Wingers, a chicken wing brand, has opened five new UK sites in Telford, Watford, West Bridgford, Birmingham's Harborne High Street, and Birmingham International train station. Established in June 2020 by Amran and Dylan Sunner with their father Bill, Wingers began franchising in autumn 2022. Currently operating 11 locations, the brand aims to expand in Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, and Scotland. Wingers’ goal is to open 50 stores within four years, targeting QSR professionals and experienced business individuals for franchise management.

🍗 Wingers, a chicken wing brand, opened five new UK sites in Telford, Watford, West Bridgford, Harborne High Street (Birmingham), and Birmingham International train station. Established in June 2020 by the Sunner family, Wingers launched as a franchise in autumn 2022. Currently operating 11 locations, the company aims to expand into Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, and Scotland, with a goal of 50 stores in the next four years. Co-founder Amran Sunner emphasized infrastructure and support for franchisees.