Home delivery on the menu at Gusto
LEISURE entrepreneur Tim Bacon is introducing a home delivery service to his chain of Italian restaurants in a bid to grow sales.
Mr Bacon’s Knutsford-based Living Ventures Restaurants has 14 sites and comprises of eight Gustos and six grill restaurants, including the Grill on the Alley in Manchester and the Hale Grill.
Turnover for the restaurants will be around £22m this year, the Australia-born businessman said.
“We are always looking for ways to innovate in the business, it’s our ethos, we don’t stand still. We have launched the home delivery angle in Knutsford and it’s going live in Alderley Edge this week.”
Despite the recession, which has hit the leisure sector hard as consumers opt to stay at home more often, Mr Bacon said he was encouraged by recent performance at the Grill on the Alley.
“We were up like for like by about 5% in May and June, flat in July, and it’s been plus 2% up in August, which is surprising because Manchester has been pretty quiet.”
Last week Mr Bacon all but ruled out making a fresh bid for the Living Room bars, which is now part of Premium Bars & Restaurants, which is in administration.
He told TheBusinessDesk, that he was not actively pursuing a bid, and was investing £3m in a new enterprise called Living Ventures Management, which will open three new leisure concepts in the next year, starting with the One Six One nightclub in Hale, Cheshire.
