Hey Hot Potatoes,

Welcome to the latest edition of the Hot Potato Newsletter! Anyone else broke from all the money they spend eating out or is that just me? I’ve had some seriously good food recently, a few spots I’d recommend - The Hart Pub, Mardys Sandwiches, Dallas Burger + pretty much the whole menu at Arcade. I am always reminded that the London food scene is so strong!

This week we're diving into the latest headlines across UK hospitality, shining a spotlight on the US drive-thru coffee brand that's grown over 4,000% since 2022, exploring why independent restaurant groups might be the new benchmark for scaling well, and I've got a spicy take on why unexpected delights could be your strongest customer acquisition and retention strategy. Let's get into it.

In today’s email: The Coffee Brand Dominating with Drive Thrus, Why Independents Groups Are Winning & How To Make Sure Guests Remember You

Read Time: Approx 3-4 mins

We take a look at some of the hottest headlines happening right now in UK Hospitality.

Sources: Propel Info, MCA Insight, Restaurant Online

🔥 THE MONEY: Whitbread sold 53 of its closing restaurant sites (Brewers Fayre and Beefeater) to Queensway Hospitality Group, who plan to relaunch them as a new value pub brand. Bain Capital agreed to acquire bubble tea giant Gong Cha from TA Associates in a deal reported at around £472m and the team behind Fallow, bought the business behind the OXO Tower Restaurant, Brasserie and Bar out of administration.

🔥 SCALING UP: US drive-thru coffee brand 7 Brew is exploring a UK launch, looking for a site off the back of 800 US sites and 3,100 signed development agreements. Black Sheep Coffee signed a 16-store deal to enter Hampshire for the first time. Time Out Group secured its global Market flagship at 10 Piccadilly, 26,000 square feet across opens in summer 2028

🔥 THE INDIES: CZER, the viral chopped Caesar wrap concept, has taken a site in Brewer Street on an initial six months. Smash burger brand Manna is going stand-alone for the first time in Marylebone. Doctor Dough has gone from a Brentford residency to a permanent Chiswick site, bringing New Haven-style coal-fired pie to Devonshire Road, and Honest Crust founder Richard Carver has teamed up with Rainy Heart's Dan Hope to open Proloco inside Manchester's One Port Street, serving 18-inch pizzas.

🔥 THE BIG PICTURE: A new £10,000 grant fund called The Future Stars Scheme has launched to help catering and hospitality students in England access experiences beyond the classroom. Prime Minister Andy Burnham is considering further measures to support high street businesses through business rates relief at the budget on October 28.

One stat stopped me this week - 7 Brew has grown by over 4,000% since 2022. That's not a typo.

7 Brew started life in Arkansas as a drive-thru coffee chain that turned a simple format into one of the fastest expansion stories in US restaurant history.

Founded in 2017 with a single stand and a menu of seven signature drinks, the brand has scaled almost entirely through franchising and the pace has only accelerated.

The Numbers That Tell The Story:
👉 700+ locations across 38 states
👉 Grew by 4,200% since the start of 2022
👉 Opened 281 net new stores in 2025, more than 2023 and 2024 combined
👉 $1.2 billion in total system-wide sales, $112.5m total company revenue, average store sales at $2.658m

Here's what they're doing differently:

☕ Format over footprint - No indoor seating, a drive-thru that's not also running a kitchen. Just a small stand, multiple lanes and a menu built for speed. Stores average just 510 square feet, proving you don't need a big box to do big volume.

⚡ Speed + hyper-customisation as the core experience - The drive-thru-only focus allows for faster service compared to traditional coffee shops, while dozens of flavour syrups, milk options and add-ins let customers build thousands of unique drink combinations - a menu spanning 20,000+ possible drinks across coffee, energy drinks, sodas, teas, lemonades, smoothies, and shakes. They really cater for everyone!

📈 Franchising as the growth engine - Nearly all of the 2025 growth came through franchised units, not corporate stores. 7 Brew closed zero restaurants in the past three years, which is almost unheard of at this pace of expansion and franchisees are clearly seeing the unit economics work.

📱 Marketing that looks nothing like a coffee ad - Their TikTok and social strategy leans on organic, creator-style content boosted with spark ads rather than polished ads. One campaign generated nearly 58,000 new followers from fewer than 30 videos. Add in energetic "Brewista” vibes at the window, and the window itself has become the marketing.

The playbook is simple: strip the format back to its essentials, make franchising the growth lever, lean heavily on organic content and let store-level economics do the convincing.

What's the fastest-growing brand on your radar right now?

From where I'm sitting, independent groups are the new benchmark for what growing a restaurant business should look like. Super 8 Restaurants — the group behind Brat, Kiln, Smoking Goat and Mountain — reported turnover up 13% to £22.5m, with improving margins and confirmed plans for further openings. Other groups are performing well too: Public House Group recently opened The Hart, MJMK has confirmed the launch of Lenny's Pizza, and Ninth Collective has launched Five Feet Pizza.

There are plenty of other strong groups out there right now - JKS and Pachamama Group among them, who've amassed an impressive line-up of independent brands under one roof. These groups capture the essence of independent restaurants while delivering great experiences at scale. That lets them keep the creativity flowing, launching new concepts that resonate with the market and current trends - something larger chains tend to struggle with.

At the same time, they have the operational know-how behind them, much like the bigger chains do. That combination is why I think they'll continue to thrive.

Unexpected delights can be one of your strongest customer acquisition and retention strategies.

You know when you go out for a meal and something unexpected happens like a drink on the house, a free dessert or the venue writes you a card thanking you for your booking, you leave with a memory that sticks.

These generally cost the restaurant very little but can have a big impact. Flat Iron do this very well: free popcorn while you wait (we all know how cheap popcorn is) and a free little ice cream to go on the house.

Another example was a meal I had at The Barbary - they gave us free margaritas for our anniversary and a handwritten card. I was so touched that I then bought a voucher for my brother to go as I wanted him to experience it.

If you’re an operator or work in hospitality, think about one small thing you could do to delight your guests - it will go a long way!

That wraps this edition of Hot Potato! Hit reply with any thoughts - I read everything and it genuinely shapes what comes next.

Been anywhere lately worth shouting about? Noticed something others aren't? Or simply want to share an opinion? Let me know!

Bon appétit,

Max Shipman, Founder, Hot Potato

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