Stevens aims to raise the bar at Thai-inspired venue Mamasan
HOSPITALITY operator Brad Stevens has declared he is driven by a feeling of “unfinished business” as he prepares to launch his latest venture in Glasgow following a £500,000 investment.
Mr Stevens is preparing to unveil Mamasan, a new Thai restaurant, bar and music concept, which he pledged will take cuisine inspired by the Far Eastern country to a new level in the city, on March 20.
The investment comes as the entrepreneur sees rapid growth at Pizza Punks, the restaurant chain he established in September 2016. Pizza Punks was initially run by Mr Stevens alongside Bar Soba Group, an Asian street food, cocktail and music chain he had founded in 1999. He exited Soba last year.
Pizza Punks, which has outlets in Glasgow, Belfast and Newcastle, is on track to grow turnover to £5 million in the year to the end of April, up from £4.2m. Mr Stevens is at the “legals” stage over deals to open two more sites, in Manchester and Bristol.
Mamasan has been developed by Mr Stevens in site on Ingram Street, formerly occupied by the restaurant brand Cau. It closed after parent group Gaucho went into administration.
Mr Stevens said his company has been able to take advantage of the high standard of fixtures and fittings which had been put in place by the previous occupant, as well as a competitive rate for the lease.
Hailing the site as an
“amazing location”, the operator said Mamasan will “scale up” the concept he developed with Bar Soba, in terms of food, music and drinks. It will also target a more “grown up” clientele.
Mr Stevens said: “It was too good an opportunity to miss. I always thought about how I could elevate Soba back in the day. This gave me the perfect opportunity.“
He added: “I brought that style of food into Glasgow in 1999. Nobody else was doing it. We want to give a rebirth to that, if you like. It is unfinished business.”
With a team of seven Thai chefs, including the former head chef from Glasgow restaurant Chaophraya, the menu will feature dishes such as a Mamasan curry, based on paste and coconut cream made from scratch on the premises. Thai ingredients and flavours will be combined with Scottish produce such as scallops and monkfish.
The new venue will feature a dramatic gantry able to house 800 bottles of spirits, and a cocktail list designed by Mr Stevens’ brother, Scott. It will also have a sound system inspired by Japanese listening bars. Hand-built by Glasgow firm We Enjoy Sound, it is designed to give an enhanced clarity of sound, meaning it intrudes less on conversations.
Mr Stevens took the decision to exit Bar Soba Group around three years after Business Growth Fund invested £3m to acquire a 21 per cent stake in the business December 2016. Soba was ultimately sold to Hull-based Camerons Brewery in November, by which time he had already taken a step back.
Asked why he had decided to exit the five-strong Soba chain, Mr Stevens said he missed the “buzz” of developing new concepts.
“I’m an entrepreneur. BGF were more corporate than Bar Soba; it didn’t really suit how I like to operate. I like to be forward thinking and on the move.”
Mr Stevens built on the original Pizza Punks in Glasgow with further openings in Belfast and Newcastle in 2018.
He said it differs from other chains by offering diners the chance to build their own pizza using up to 47 toppings.
The pizzas are based on a speciality sour dough made from a “starter culture” imported from San Francisco.
Turnover at Pizza Punks has increased leapt from £1.4m in 2018 to £4.2m last year on the strength of the new openings, with underlying profits coming in at between £500,000 and £600,000. It is forecast to turn over £5m this year.
Mr Stevens said: “Pizza Punks has been phenomenal. It has just worked really well.”
With Mamasan due to be up and running soon, and two new outlets joining the Pizza Punks stable soon, Mr
Stevens forecasts the wider group will turn over around £11m in the year to April 2021. The group currently has 130 staff, with that number projected to rise to 250.
Mr Stevens said: “We know what we are doing, we have done it long enough, and we are not taking silly risks that might not work. Everything is a risk, obviously, but
[it is] calculated.”