Venues looking for franchise opportunities with the Godfather
of Modern cooking can do so following a deal between a new
hospitality development company and Marco Pierre White.
With Marco Pierre White as a stakeholder, Black and White
Franchising, which is the trading name of New York Italian Limited,
will now oversee the roll out of the Marco Pierre White Steakhouse
Bar & Grill and Marco’s New York Italian concepts across the UK,
with plans to open 50 new franchised restaurants within five
years.
Heading this new venture is Nick Taplin, who has been
instrumental in establishing the already successful and popular
Steakhouse and Italian concepts at a number of destinations
including Doubletree by Hilton Cadbury House in North Somerset, The
Cube in Birmingham and Hampton by Hilton Sheffield.
Two new restaurants are to open in August including venues in
Stratford and Glasgow.
Nick and his team are now looking to establish partnership
agreements with other quality hotel and independent venues that
want to drive footfall and custom to their business, utilising UK
buying power while benefitting from the association with Marco
Pierre White and the exposure it brings.
Nick Taplin said: “We have had great success with our own ten
restaurants and are looking forward to expanding both franchises.
Some of the Steakhouses have been in operation for a number of
years and have proved extremely successful while the New York
Italian concept is a slightly newer idea.
“The move has been made following extensive market research
and analysis to create both concepts to ensure we deliver the food,
service and experience that people want.
“What we found is that generally, people who stay in hotels do
not necessarily eat in the hotel restaurant. A key focus is to
therefore open restaurants in city centre locations within hotels
with existing restaurants that do not trade well or
profitably.
“Marco Pierre White is one of the most globally recognised
brands in the catering industry. As a franchisee you will benefit
from the great brand recognition and publicity it
brings.
“A venue that has the provenance of Marco Pierre White will
not only attract residents to dine in-house but also attract
non-resident customers to visit.
“The Marco Pierre White name gives us a great platform for
launch as it is synonymous across the world for good quality food.
We know that with the current establishments the name alone pulls
people through the door.
“Marco will ensure the food is top class and the team will
ensure the rest of the experience works for diners. We believe the
package will raise awareness and deliver footfall.
“Operationally, each venue has also needed to perform,
attaining and maintaining the exacting standards of Marco while
building its own reputation for meals that are good quality and
excellent value for money. All of the restaurants stand
behind Marco’s philosophy of ‘affordable glamour’.”
“We are now ready to roll out this model to those who want to
drive custom to their venue and make their restaurant the
destination of choice.”
