Black & Blue acquires Waterloo restaurant as part of a change in strategy

The company, founded in 2000 by Nick Hill and Alan Bacon, has acquired the 130-cover former Arch One Bar & Grill on Mepham Street and is currently refurbishing the venue ahead of a planned opening in mid-February.

Announcing the acquisition, Hill, who is still a director of the firm, also revealed it was selling two of its smaller, high street sites in Kensington and Chelsea as part of a significant change in growth strategy for the business.

“The sale of our Gloucester Road and King’s Road sites signals a step change in our growth strategy which has developed on the back of the incredible success of our larger, more centrally-located outlets and this is where we see the company heading," he explained.

Both 60-cover Black & Blue restaurants in Gloucester Road and King’s Road will close on Saturday 25 January.

First steakhouse​

The group opened its first site in Notting Hill Gate almost 14 years ago but since then has acquired a number of larger, non-high street restaurants including one in Borough Market, bought in 2006, and The Archduke on the South Bank.

“At its inception 13 years ago, Black and Blue’s objective was to bring high-quality, reasonably-priced steaks and burgers to your local high street.

"You could say that we were the first real American high-street steakhouse, a concept not seen in London before," Hill argued.

"What we’ve seen happen over the last 13 years is a transformation of Black and Blue from a local, high-street restaurant chain to a group that has slowly acquired a collection of state-of-the-art locations," he added.

Speaking to BigHospitality, a spokesperson for Black & Blue confirmed that if a site fitting the new strategy became available it would be acquired but said there were no targets for expansion with the focus remaining on the opening of Black & Blue Waterloo.