Irish restaurant brands coming to Yorkshire shopping centre

The Frenchgate Partnership, owners of the Frenchgate Shopping Centre in Doncaster, has signed two Irish food and beverage brands for their debut sites in the UK.

WOWBURGER and Elephant & Castle are taking 2,800 sq ft and 4,000 sq ft respectively. Both will open on the first floor of Frenchgate’s North Mall Gallery in the fourth quarter of 2020.

WOWBURGER, part of the Press Up Hospitality Group, currently has 14 outlets in Ireland, clustered in and around Dublin and Cork.

Also from the Press Up Hospitality Group stable, Elephant & Castle is one of Ireland’s most well known restaurants, having set up in Dublin’s Temple Bar 30 years ago, an extension of its original sister restaurant in the Lower East-Side in Manhattan, NYC.

There are currently six Elephant & Castle locations in Dublin, including the flagship site in Temple Bar.

Laura Arnold, head of marketing and public relations at Press Up, said: “We have been planning the UK debuts of WOWBURGER and Elephant & Castle for some time, following closely a handful of locations that meet our requirements.

“Frenchgate is ideal, with its high footfall, strong regional appeal, and an evident commitment to providing visitors with a range of engaging F&B brands.”

Patrick Mellon, of Frenchgate, added: “Our strategy is creating a unique mix of choice, quality and experience for visitors, be they living locally or travelling to Frenchgate from across the region.

“The approach has been successful historically and is even more relevant now as the centre emerges from the lockdown.

“Securing these two strong brands for their UK launch sites is a great accolade for the centre and a testament to the leasing team’s commitment to delivering the vision.”

In addition to signing WOWBURGER and Elephant & Castle, the Frenchgate Partnership has completed 40,000 sq ft of new deals, lease re-negotiations and renewals in the last six months.

Further negotiations with other existing operators are anticipated to conclude in the coming weeks.

The Partnership is also in detailed discussions with cinema operators after receiving planning consent in April last year for a 15,000 sq ft, eight-screen multiplex.

Time Retail and Rawstron Johnson represented The Frenchgate Partnership. Press Up dealt directly.