High-street restaurants to under go change
The high-street restaurant sector is about to undergo a seismic shift as shopping centre developers move in to colonise city centres, a leading foodservice consultant has warned. Speaking at a Fiftytwenty event last week Jonathan Doughty, managing director of Coverpoint, siad with out-of-town developments of the scale of Manchester’s Trafford Centre effectively outlawed developers were now targeting city centres. Doughty said that while there were huge opportunities to be seized for restaurants the stakes had been raised as brands discarded by shopping centre managers would be left out in the cold to struggle. The consultant urged operators, if they hadn’t already, to start talking to these landlords who are themselves becoming increasing savvy about the style, mix and image of the restaurants they want in their premises.