Tasty treats ahead as old favourites branch out in Brum
THE coming year is going to be an exciting one for Birmingham’s food and drink scene.
While 2022 presented challenges to businesses, especially the smaller ones, many are planning big things for 2023.
1) Glynn Purnell’s tapas restaurant
The Michelin Star chef signed the lease for 121 Edmund Street in the summer.
Posting to Instagram, Purnell’s wrote: “Exciting times ahead for Purnell’s. Last month we celebrated 15 years of Purnell’s, and March 2022 saw the opening of The Mount by Glynn Purnell in Henley-in-Arden. Following hot on the heels of The Mount, our next venture is just about to get underway.
“We have just signed the lease for 121 Edmund Street, just around the corner from Purnell’s.
“It will become a small tapas style bar serving small plates, great wine and cocktails. And as the old saying goes... good things come in small packages!”
2) Rudy’s Pizza
A second branch of Rudy’s Pizza will open in Brindleyplace, at the site of the former Cielo.
There’s already a Rudy’s in the city, on Bennetts Hill. The new branch will be giving away free Neapolitan pizzas when it opens. It’ll be a boost for Brindleyplace, which saw a lot of closures in 2022.
3) Quarter Horse Coffee
It’s one of the best coffee spots in town and now Quarter Horse is expanding into a second shop. The independent roasters opened their first shop in 2015 on Bridge Street and in January, it’ll set up shop in the Jewellery Quarter.
Husband and wife team Nathan and Ameeta Retzer will serve food at the new spot, as well as fine coffee in its espresso bar. The spot will be on Kenyon Street.
4) Low ‘n’ Slow
It’s been four years since street food legends Low ‘n’ Slow started crowdfunding for a permanent home and they’re right on the precipice of making that happen.
It looks as though Andy Stubbs and the team will be opening a Jewellery Quarter spot in the new year.
The vendors quit Hockley Social Club in the summer to focus on new plans, working alongside JQ restaurant The Wilderness to develop their menu and road test new dishes.
Emailing customers, Low ‘n’ Slow wrote in November: “After we left Hockley, Donna and I have focused our efforts on nothing else and we have now found a space in the Jewellery Quarter that will be home to Low ‘n’ Slow - our debut restaurant.”
5) GupShup/Shokupan
When GupShup closed its Great Western Arcade shop in 2022, the brand remained focused on the goal of opening a new city centre spot. It looks as though that’s going to be in Grand Central, under a new name.
Shokupan will serve its delicious, chunky Japanese sandos and hotties from where Tasty Plaice was, near Nandos and Costa.