Jay Rayner loves them. They were voted Cook Vegetarian magazine's 'Best Vegetarian Restaurant Outside of London 2014'. And now Manchester and Birmingham’s 1847 is ready to spread the joy of exceptional British vegetarian food even further across the UK.
When 1847 launched a Kickstarter campaign back in May, they were aiming for enough support to launch one new restaurant in nearby Liverpool.
Whilst their campaign didn’t reach its target, the venture did attract interest from some major investors, allowing the company to really run with their ambition.
The exciting result is that 1847 are now launching two new sites, in Bristol and Edinburgh, with openings scheduled for the autumn.
‘My plan was to always expand 1847 across the UK, and develop the UKs leading vegetarian food brand,’ says owner Damien Davenport.
One visit to 1847 and you can tell it’s the brainchild of someone who is both a lover of exceptional food and a long time vegetarian. From the popular battered halloumi and chips that satisfies your average vegetarian’s nostalgia for a good old chip shop meal, to the elegant savoury mille feuille with ricotta and black olive tapenade that reveals the care and attention given to the menus, the restaurant really succeeds in Davenport’s ambition, when he launched five years ago, to push the boundaries of vegetarian food in Britain.
Adding the Bristol and Edinburgh Bistros to their current offering in Manchester and Birmingham will not only establish the brand across the country, but also gives Davenport the chance to develop 1847’s much anticipated Vegetarian Cookery Schools.
Emma Burkitt, formerly HR manager at The Football Museum and Malmaison hotels, has come on board as 1847’s HR Director, and will be overseeing the setting up of the schools in Edinburgh and Bristol, with a view to incorporating them into the existing restaurants as they expand.
‘All our team; both front of house and the chefs will go through full educational training within those schools,’ explains the owner. ‘and we’ll also be offering vegetarian cookery courses to the public throughout the year.’ 1847 will also be adding to their intake of apprentices again this year, as well as recruiting two post graduate marketing people for their new premises.
And these two new restaurants are only the beginning. 1847 are still committed to a Liverpool presence - ‘It’s a city we’d love to be in, we just need to find the right site’ - and have already got their eye on sites in three other cities with the intention of continuing to expand early 2016.
As they look set to make themselves a brand known and loved across the UK, from down South right up to Scotland, it looks like a bright future for 1847 and lovers of quality vegetarian dining alike.
Follow them on @1847Manchester @1847Birmingham @1847Edinburgh @1847Bristol or follow Damien at @bistro1847
