Fast growing restaurant chain opens eight new venues in three months

Bristol restaurant chain Loungers has opened eight new sites in the last three months as it continues its rapid expansion across the country.

The chain, which was launched by three friends in South Bristol less than two decades ago, now has 257 sites,

The company, which operates under the the Lounge, Cosy Club and Brightside brands, issued a statement this morning.

In the past three months, the group opened new Lounges in Bromsgrove (Verraco Lounge), Chepstow (Pontio Lounge), Macclesfield (Panadero Lounge), Westwood Cross (Riparo Lounge), Bracknell (Pineto Lounge), Ilkley (Vitello Lounge), Sidcup (Sarto Lounge) and Yeovil (Barolo Lounge).

The sites range from brand new developments to former banks, retail outlets and restaurants on the high street and in shopping centres, demonstrating the variety and versatility of the Lounge concept.

All of the Lounges are named in keeping with the origins of the site and the surrounding area, with several also featuring murals paying homage to the local history.

As ever, with each new Lounge site nearly £1m is invested into the local high street and an average of 30 new jobs are created.

The group was pleased to be recently crowned Best Pub / Bar Company at the MCA Hospitality Awards 2024, with the Lounge concept also winning an award for the Best Street Food Inspiration at the MIDAS Awards.

In addition, Alex Reilley, chairman and co-founder of Loungers, was awarded Business Leader of the Year at the recent Publican Awards 2024.

He said: “With a new site opening every 10 days so far this year across a wide variety of locations in the UK, Loungers continues to go from strength to strength with a fantastic pipeline ahead.

“We still firmly believe that there is scope for over 600 Lounges, and are more excited than ever about the future of this business.”