King of Leon: Fitzgerald’s healthy fast-food expansion
HEALTHY fast-food chain Leon will open at least four new units in Dublin this year, with locations in Millennium Walk, Castle Market and Dundrum Town Centre confirmed.
Leon Ireland, which is headed by Stuart Fitzgerald, has raised €3.6m and is seeking money for a final investment round.
Investors include Michael McElligott of Tetrarch, Fitzgerald and around a dozen other shareholders.
Leon Ireland plans to open 20 outlets in total. The first one opened in May 2019 and is located in Temple Bar behind the former Central Bank, which is currently being developed.
Fitzgerald told the Sunday Independent that vegetarian and meat alternatives sold at the Temple Bar location were performing strongly, with sales equally divided between meat dishes and meat-alternative/plant-based food.
The chain’s vegan burger, known as the Love Burger, is the best-selling burger “by a distance”, he added.
The second outlet will open in Millennium Walk in Dublin 1 next month, while a third will open at the former Jo’Burger unit on Castle Market.
The Dundrum unit will be in a newly developed food district at Dundrum Town Centre, where Press Up Group is developing a bowling alley and US-Asian food brand PF Chang’s will also be located.
Fitzgerald said the business was hoping to open in more locations this year and was working on two other potential units.
However, he said that it was difficult to secure units.
“It’s a very competitive property market,” he told the Sunday Independent. “There is a lot of interest among people we compete with in the market. And given the nature of the Georgian architecture in Dublin, there are not a lot of purpose-built units. It is one of the big limiting factors.”
He said that another limiting factor was the availability of staff. Accommodation in Dublin is also having an impact, as some employees have decided to move out of the city due to the rental crisis, Fitzgerald added.
The business has entered into agreements with Deliveroo and Uber Eats for home and office delivery. Fitzgerald said that delivery was a material part of the company’s business.