Hotel Openings

🏡 Black Rock Hotels, owner of Leighinmohr House, opens Gray’s at Bushmills, a 17-bed boutique hotel on the Antrim coast. Financing was supported by Ulster Bank.

🍴 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.

🏨 Virgin Hotels opened bookings for their first London hotel in Shoreditch, launching on August 1st, adding to their eight existing locations and expanding the brand to a total of 17 properties. The Shoreditch hotel features 120 luxury bedrooms and a Spanish restaurant by chef Dani Garcia. Everly Hotels launched The White Horses in Rottingdean, offering 32 rooms, including dog-friendly options, and a 290-seater restaurant. The Driftwood Hotel in Cornwall was sold to a private group after 22 years of ownership. Ibis Styles hotel in Glasgow secured a £5m refinancing deal, featuring 137 beds and a music-themed bar.

🍤 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.

🏨 Virgin Hotels opens bookings for its first London location in Shoreditch, set to open on 1 August.

🍗 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.

🍗 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.

🍴 Singapore-based restaurant Burnt Ends, ranked 34th on The World's 50 Best Restaurants list and 15th on Asia's 50 Best Restaurants list, has withdrawn plans to open at Harrods, London, announced in March last year. The collaboration ended due to the inability to install a four-tonne wood-burning oven and grills in the historic Grade II listed building. Chef-owner David Pynt founded Burnt Ends in 2012; the restaurant is now in Dempsey Hill, Singapore.

🍽 Liverpool City Council approved The Ivy Group's conversion of the Grade-I listed former Bank of England building for their first restaurant in Liverpool. The Ivy will join two other north-west England locations, expanding their UK presence with over 40 sites. The restaurant will serve from breakfast to dinner seven days a week, featuring contemporary and classic dishes. This follows news of a potential Troia sale by owner Richard Caring. The planning was facilitated by Pegasus Group, who emphasized Liverpool’s growth in premium hospitality.

🍕 London-based Zia Lucia pizzeria, founded in 2016, operates nine restaurants across London and one in Reading. Teaming up with GNF Worldwide, Zia Lucia aims for international expansion and UK growth, planning to open 5-10 sites in three years. A new Chelsea location will mark their tenth in London. Their unique menu offers pizzas on various dough types, including traditional, gluten-free, wholemeal, and charcoal. Founders Gianluca D’Angelo and Claudio Vescovo also run the fresh pasta restaurant Berto. They envisage reaching 100 stores in five years.