Latest news with #panAsianCuisine
The Sun
30-06-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Beloved trendy restaurant chain famed for pan-Asian dining and cocktails closes down all sites in blow to high street
A BELOVED pan-Asian restaurant known for its trendy dining and cocktails is closing all its locations, dealing a major blow to the high street. PEACH, a restaurant group based in East Hertfordshire, has annonced the immediate closure of both its sites after five years of serving customers. 2 Founders Dan Knowles and Leigh Keates launched the business in 2020, with branches in Bishop's Stortford and Hertford. The pair gave no reason for the closure but said in a statement: "With great sadness, we want to let you know that both restaurants have now closed. "This was not an easy decision and certainly not one we took lightly. "We are incredibly grateful for the support, kindness and loyalty you've shown us over the years - it has meant everything." The PEACH owners have confirmed that all future bookings and private hires at both restaurants have been contacted regarding the closure. Fans of the popular dining and cocktail spots have taken to social media to express their sadness over the closures. "Hugely sad to read this - always my go to place to in Hertford," wrote one user. Another commented: "Hertford will miss you. "Sending you lots of love and luck for your next chapter." A third said: "So sad to see this! You really will be missed!" Beloved Italian restaurant chain abruptly closes 4 locations after going bankrupt for third time and fans 'so sad' "Sad to see another independent business closing down," a fourth added. It comes after a popular fast food chain has announced it is closing all of its restaurants, after over a decade in business. The restaurant's final two venues shut their doors for the last time on Sunday, with the owner declaring that running the eateries was "no longer viable". Chick 'n' Sours has closed its restaurants in Haggerston and Seven Dials in London, after hanging on "as long as we could". However, fans of the chicken shop will be pleased to know that it will continue its residencies at the Roof East and Corner Corner food halls. Chick 'n' Sours will also still be available on Deliveroo, with the brand also appearing at UK festivals and live music events. Co-founder David Wolanksi wrote on Instagram: 'We do what we do because we love it, fuelled by passion and a desire to provide guests with awesome food and memorable dining experiences. "But that's no longer enough these days. 'We hung in there as long as we could but I'm afraid we've now reached the point where operating the two restaurants just isn't viable anymore and it makes no commercial sense to continue. "The casual dining restaurant model is broken, but that's for another post.'
Irish Times
03-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Asian cuisine restaurant chain Tootoomoo prepares to serve up Irish expansion
Tootoomoo, the London-based restaurant chain specialising in pan-Asian cuisine, is planning an expansion into the Irish retail lunch market following success with Sainsbury's supermarkets in the UK. 'People want something different, they are bored with the same, old lunch concept', said Philip McGuinness, the Irish founder of Tootoomoo, whose branded meals, such as noodles, rolls and tacos, are selling well nationally in the UK retail giant's stores. Tootoomoo is finalising distribution partnerships in Ireland, which is one of the company's 'key focus areas' as it seeks to bring 'the vibrant energy of Asian street markets' to Irish lunch options. Asian food is the fastest-growing category in the UK and Ireland, McGuinness said, forecasting sales of £30 million (€35.6 million) over the next three years across Ireland, UK and western Europe. READ MORE In 2021, Tootoomoo expanded into retail offerings, joining forces with Sainsbury's to develop a Hanoi Café-inspired alternative in the prepared lunch market. Its products went on sale in store in April. The brand, which was founded in 2013, started off as a single London restaurant and was developed into a chain of franchised locations across the north of the city. After graduating from the UCD Smurfit Business School, Mr McGuinness worked in management roles across retail brands, with Tesco and the Dairygold Cooperative before moving to London. Inspired by street food tastes he encountered while travelling across Asia, Mr McGuinness said he 'fell in love' with the cuisine and wanted to bring back to London the flavours people found while travelling. 'I took a lease on a failed site in Crouch End in north London,' he said. 'I redesigned the interior of the site with the concept of Tootoomoo, an Indonesian folklore about a girl and a giant.' Tootoomoo is introducing new markets to the tastes of Asian food that had excited its founder. 'We had to have a story that had meaning and had substance,' Mr McGuinness said, with the company adapting Malaysian, Chinese, Japanese, Thai and Vietnamese taste profiles in search of the 'perfect Asian fusion'. 'The way you think of Old El Paso and Mexican food, in the same way within the next three years when you think of pan-Asian food you will think of Tootoomoo.'
