foray
outside London after
the
opening of the Brighton restaurant. “A lot of people want us [in their schemes] but we will only go into what I describe as fi ve-star schemes, such as Trinity Leeds.
“We could have opened in provin- cial schemes and we would have made a lot of money for a couple of years, and then the brand would have fallen off the cliff ,” he reasons. Pho’s
target 25-to-35-year-old demographic of professionals who
live and work in urban surroundings fi ts well with the catchment for Trinity Leeds. Wall says he is also attracted to the scheme because it is a completely
new concept outside of London, with cutting-edge design, a focus on the best in dining and a number of other high- quality operators. “That’s what we want to be part of, as it will draw the crowds.”
While still relatively small, he says scheme owners such
as Land Securities are attracted because he can off er something new, while already having a clear operating model: “For Land Securities we are an emerging brand, and outside London few people know us; but we do have seven years’ experience.” Those seven years in the business has taught the Walls
to be focused on customer service, great product and great people. As a growing business they can no longer do every- thing themselves and are at the point where they need staff who can act as custodians of the brand they have so carefully nurtured. “We are trying to instil the DNA of our business into our
staff . Ewan [one of his senior managers] thinks exactly like we do. I don’t ever want robotic staff who just go through the motions.” This means the couple draft in what Wall calls
“We could open 15 to 20 additional sites in the next few
years, but we will be very particular in terms of site choice. We are looking for further high street sites and would love to open in Covent Garden among other central London locations,” says Wall. Site choice is down to exact location, including the actual building, and his business is too small to be able to aff ord to get a single decision wrong. “If you choose the wrong site in the restaurant trade
then you know about it, it sets you back a year in the business,” he adds. One restaurant has opened at Westfi eld Stratford City,
and the business is in talks to open at Land Securities’ Trinity Leeds development, which would be its fi rst major
“the A-team” to spend a good month or so in a new restaurant when it opens, to make sure it gets off on the right footing. In particular, getting a new opening right means impressing customers who are fi rst to try out a new site, as they are important in spreading the word, and tend to be loyal too. “It’s the early adopters who are so crucial. They are on Twitter and Facebook, and are tech-savvy in recom- mending you. They tend to have more disposable income than the average customer too.” The fi nal question I ask is about his future aspirations.
On this he is clear: “It comes back to the brand. Even if we have fi ve times more sites it is still having the same brand values intact. Too many restaurants change when they grow, and start to cut corners on staff and the quality of the food. We’ve got to learn from the lessons seen elsewhere.” He concludes: “Whether we have one or 101 restaurants – each should be as good quality as the fi rst.” ●
autumn 2012 9
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