Popular London pizza restaurant, Franco Manca, plans to open its next restaurant on Cheltenham’s popular Promenade in what was Café Rouge.
The fast-growing pizza business has submitted its plans for the former Café Rouge site, with Cheltenham Borough Council suggesting it is very likely to go ahead.
The firm, founded by former senior figures from PizzaExpress, currently has 17 restaurants and between Tuesday 17 August and Sunday 5 September 2021 saw turnover rise 27 per cent on the same period last year.
Plans for its new Cheltenham venue signal what could be the next stage in an astonishing growth story for the brand.
David Page, chairman of The Fulham Shore PLC, which owns Franco Manca and The Real Greek, said: ‘We are very encouraged by the accelerating revenue growth trends during recent weeks despite continued challenging trading conditions.
‘We continue to see a number of exciting growth opportunities and are on course to open 10 locations during the current financial year, with more than 150 additional sites in our medium-term plans.’
It is understood its lawyers are working on contracts for 15 potential new sites for the pizza chain and Greek restaurant business.
Growth has been driven by the reopening of UK’s night-time economy and theatres, as well as the return of office workers to towns and city centres.
Plans lodged with Cheltenham Borough Council show an artist’s impression of how 43 Promenade could look with its new branding and its frontage dressed with ‘Dulux Salisbury Stone’.
SoGlos has contacted Franco Manca and The Fulham Shore PLC for a comment.
This article is part of SoGlos’s #BackToBusinessGlos campaign – supported by Hazlewoods, Aston Lark and BPE, to champion the positive efforts of Gloucestershire businesses as the county recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic. For more information, see soglos.com/backtobusinessglos
By Andrew Merrell
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