Franco Manca owner strikes franchise deal to expand burger joint Bukowski
City restaurateur David Page’s leisure vehicle Fulham Shore has become the latest company to cash in on the “posh burger” craze after striking a deal to expand American-style barbecue joint Bukowski Grill.
The Aim-listed company, which snapped up sourdough pizza company Franco Manca earlier this year, said it has entered a franchise agreement with Bukowski’s owner to open a new £500,000 site in D'Arblay Street in Soho.
Under the terms of the deal, Fulham Shore will pay Bukowski an upfront franchise fee of £8,500 and an ongoing franchise royalty of five per cent of the franchise restaurant's revenue. It already owns the lease for the site and expects to have it fitted-out and ready for business by early next year.
Bukowski was founded in 2011 in in Shoreditch’s BoxPark by Robin Freeman, the ex-head chef of Soho private members club Blacks and Franco Manca Giuseppe Mascoli. It serves up ribs and burgers cooked on a charcoal grill looks with adventurous toppings including Morbier cheese and chilli-pickled Brussels sprouts.
It opened its second larger branch in Brixton Village in 2012, joining the market’s other popular patty joint Honest Burger.
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Page, a former Pizza Express chief executive who has backed several chains including Gourmet Burger Kitchen under his former private equity group Clapham House, is already a major shareholder in Bukowski. He holds a 31.6 per cent stake together with his long-term business partner and Fulham Shore director Nabil Mankarious.
“We are thrilled to be opening a Bukowski in Soho. Bukowski sells great breakfasts, burgers, ribs and steak accompanied by delicious beer and wine. This three year franchise agreement will add to Fulham Shore's exposure to, and knowledge of, the exciting and thriving London restaurant market,” Page said.