Family run restaurant group Olive Tree Brasserie eyes expansion

By Sophie Witts

- Last updated on GMT

The owners of Olive Tree Brasserie are aiming to expand the restaurant to become a national chain
The owners of Olive Tree Brasserie are aiming to expand the restaurant to become a national chain

Related tags Greece

Family run restaurant group Olive Tree Brasserie is planning to expand across the North of England, aiming to have ten sites in the next five years.

The Greek and Mediterranean group are searching for investors to help expand their fast growing business in to a national chain.

Owner Dean Wilson is currently researching potential venues for a third restaurant to open in Manchester in January 2016, with a fourth to follow soon after.

Wilson told BigHospitality: “When I opened the first restaurant I always planned to expand and make a chain out of it. There is a massive appetite for Greek and Mediterranean food in the North of England. When we started it was not particularly well known in Lancashire, but its popularity is really growing.”

Olive Tree has made a name for itself locally, and was highly commended in the Restaurant of the Year category at the Lancashire Life Food and Drink Awards 2014.

The group’s second site opened in Preston in November 2014, and has beaten forecast profits by 25 per cent.

The venue is now being expanded to include a wine and cocktail bar, which will also offer a private function room.

Wilson said: “The design of the bar is going to be based around a wine cavern, we want to use lots of dark wood and exposed brickwork to make it really cosy.”

There are plans to eventually open a site in London, though Wilson admits that competition in the capital would be much tougher.

He said: “In the big city there is a much wider variety of cuisine available to diners, but that isn't the case in some smaller towns. People love Greek cuisine here, and in the short term we are planning to concentrate on opening new venues in the North of England."

Olive Tree is a member of Made In Lancashire and sources 70 per cent of its produce from local suppliers. Additional produce is bought directly from Greece and used to create classic Greek dishes with a modern twist.

The fresh produce is cooked in an open kitchen in front of diners, which includes two char-grills for cooking the restaurants souvlaki specialties.

The group opened their first venue in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, in 2007, and became the first independent family run restaurant in the North of England to be a member of MSC, helping to support sustainable fishing and stock levels in the sea.

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