London restaurant operators Yoga Mogantas and Nayan Chande of MC Group – UK Ltd, are taking their fourth site with Star Pubs & Bars, The Grand Union at Uxbridge, and commencing work on a joint £330,000 refurbishment this week.
MC Group currently has six sites* to the West and North West of London. Its existing sites with Star Pubs & Bars include: Tamara Lounge in Uxbridge, a lounge bar with an authentic Chinese and traditional Indian restaurant; Namaste Lounge in Northwood, a lounge bar and Indian restaurant in Northwood and Rickshaw Road in Slough, a bar and restaurant serving Indian cuisine which is due to open in mid-November.
The Grand Union will be their first British pub with Mogantas and Chande looking to diversify further into this market and build up a group of pubs.
The investment will restore The Grand Union to its former glory as an outstanding traditional pub and introduce great freshly prepared food. The pub will be renamed The Runway to mark its change of direction.
Work is expected to take six weeks with The Runway scheduled to open its doors in late November. 25 new jobs will be created.
Outside work will renovate the building including repainting and adding new signage. The inside will be refurbished throughout in a vintage country pub style in keeping with the building’s architecture. There will be a traditional bar area, a comfortable lounge and a restaurant. A new kitchen will be installed to enable The Runway to focus on food.
Mogantas, MC Group Managing Director, says the company was inspired to take on the pub by the lack of places specialising in British food in the area. “The Runway will serve good quality British food – everything from fish and chips to steaks and, roasts on a Sunday. All the dishes will be home cooked and freshly prepared using ingredients from local growers and farmers wherever possible. There’ll be an equal focus on the bar with a good range of beers including cask ales.”
MC Group plans to acquire further pubs in high traffic town centre and urban locations with good demographics inside and just outside the M25, from Croydon in the South East round to North London. Their search is focused on sites where there is potential to develop trade based around fresh British and British / Indian fusion food with healthy dining options. MC Group is taking The Runway on a 20-year lease and is interested in pubs with long FRI leases or which are available for freehold purchase.
Tim Galligan, Star Pubs & Bars operations director said. “Yoga and Nayan are highly experienced hospitality operators. Their food, service, social media and retailing standards are excellent with their sites scoring 100% in Star’s recent mystery visits. We’re delighted they are bringing this expertise into the pub sector and to be working with them on their first pub venture.”
