Multi award winning American brand Which Wich Superior Sandwiches is launching its UK debut in central London.
The restaurant has secured a 750 sq ft prime West End unit through CDG Leisure in the St Giles Plaza, Central St Giles, to kick-start its national expansion.
Mark Wright and Kiren Dhesi at CDG Leisure, which brokered the deal, said: “As one of the largest mixed-use developments in the West End, occupied by some of the world’s leading companies, this is the ideal location for Which Wich’s London flagship. The chain is the first concept to use an interactive, fully customizable bag ordering system and with more than 40 toppings to choose from, it is guaranteed to be popular with occupiers as well as becoming a standalone lunch destination.”
Founded in 2003 by entrepreneur Jeff Sinelli, Which Wich is best known for its customizable sandwiches, creative ordering system, and personalized sandwich bag. Guests use red Sharpies to mark their choices from a pre-printed menu of breads, fillings and toppings, on brown sandwich bags. All the sandwiches are served hot, with more than 40 toppings to choose from and the first UK restaurant will feature a revitalised look and a bespoke London menu.
Which Wich UK is led by Rami Awada of AAA Investment House, an entrepreneur with a strong track record of investments in UK and Canada. The launch is overseen by industry leader Kevin Todd, formerly MD at Mitchells and Butlers, and is supported by leading design house Design Coalition.
“London is a truly international city with tons of energy and the Which Wich brand is just the perfect fit,” said managing director Rami Awada.
“We have looked at every aspect of the guest journey and taken each element apart and built it back again with ‘quality, speed and fun’ in mind. The brand is famous for its ordering system which we have enhanced, and our menu innovation from breakfast through to lunch and even dinner is very exciting.
‘’We feel the market is saturated with cold grab-and-go sandwich offerings, and Londoners will welcome a change in pursuing their beloved sandwich habit. We have witnessed the high-quality burger revolution and we now feel London is perfectly placed to receive our hot, premium quality sandwiches.
‘’With Brexit coming along, a lot of the exaggeration in the London market has been exposed with extremely high rents and business rates driving some chains out of business. Other chains are scrapping expansion plans and shutting down multiple units. Rather than worry about these developments, we actually feel this is a great opportunity for us to enter this exciting market with long lasting business terms.
“We have the utmost trust and confidence in the quality of our sandwiches and the Which Wich brand, and we are excited to enter the market now when most are pulling out.’’
In 2007, Which Wich received the coveted Hot Concepts! Award from Nation’s Restaurant News, the premier trade publication for the American restaurant industry. In 2017 the brand was recognised in the top 10 of the Fast Casual.com top 100 movers and shakers.
Which Wich has 500 sites open, or in development, in 10 countries. CDG Leisure will be seeking further units on behalf of the chain for its UK-wide roll-out with a focus on 10 initial prime London sites.