HE'S done it again...
Last month Sleuth announced that Busaba Eathai, a highly recommended (by London pals, at least) Thai restaurant group founded in 1999 by master restaurateur, Alan Yau OBE, were eyeing up sites around Exchange Square for yet another London-brand move on Manchester in 2015.
Each morning Thai staff bow before the Buddha and begin work with a strike of the gong
Looking at these planning docs it looks like Sleuth was bang on the money. The Printworks' naff Cafe Rouge is out (as owners Targus look to offload struggling sites) and dark, slick, sexy and soft-lit Busaba is in. Good business by The Printworks. Busaba Eathai will open later in the year.
Yau is the mastermind behind the all-conquering Japanese restaurant and noodle bar, Wagamama, which he launched in 1992 and sold a decade later for £60m. Yau then opened Hakkasan - which later became Britain's first Michelin-starred Cantonese - which he sold in 2008 alongside another Michelin-starred effort, Yauatcha, for £30m.
After that came Cha Cha moon, Princi, Babaji, Duck & Rice, Naamyaa... needless to say Yau is a canny operator. King Midas touches Yau for good luck.
Phoenix Equity Partners bought three Busaba sites in 2008 for another £21.5m (reckon Yau will lend me a fiver?) and quickly expanded. The 7000 sq ft Manchester site will become the fourteenth Busaba - the first outside of London, sort of (one has just opened in Dubai, but Dubai doesn't count, it's a franchise and it's too hot). Yau remains on as a director and shareholder.
Alan YauSo what's Busaba about? 'Authenticity', of course, who isn't? (Marks & Spencer now offer 'authentic' jeans, which begs the question... what are inauthentic jeans? Trousers?) All food is made fresh on site, of course, by Thai chefs, of course, and free from preservatives and artificial kak, of course.
Now for the interesting nuggets. Each morning Thai staff bow before the Buddha and begin work with a strike of the gong; all customers must sit and dine together at communal tables; and average customer spend sits at just under £20. Confidential's London correspondent (cheers Pete) say Busaba's Thai calamari (£6.50) and char-grilled duck (£12.50) are showstoppers.
We'll see about that, still, this is a major coup for The Printworks; their biggest signing since that lovely Harvester...
