Thomas Kelly, chief executive of Honest Burgers, stated that the casual dining chain aims to expand its business quadruple the size of its business within six years.
The brand, which presently has 39 restaurants throughout England and Wales, has ambitious plans to grow its presence beyond its London base by expanding further north, according to chief executive Thomas Kelly.
He said the group was looking to move into cities such as Birmingham for the first time and possibly expand its presence in Manchester and Liverpool.
The staged scheme will begin with 15 new openings over the next 18 months and the Honest Burgers model is flexible and can adapt to various space sizes.
The expansion will begin with the introduction of Honest's new quick-service smash burger concept, first announced in 2023. The brand secured nearly £3 million through crowdfunding at the end of last year to support the expansion and rollout of this new concept.
Honest has been testing smashed products within its existing locations, such as this month's special menu item—a double smashed burger.
'It's taken two years to perfect, and when we're ready to go with the concept we'll make sure it's a really good burger that customers want to buy,' said Kelly.
He added that the Honest branding will remain the same, with only the messaging around the smashed launch being tailored to the new site.
However, Kelly said the company would continue to focus on its existing locations during the expansion process.
'We have to look after the business we have, not the business we may have. If you take your eyes off the business you have, you won't have a foundation to grow,' he added.
Thomas Kelly took over the role of chief executive at Honest in January, following his leadership at McDonald's in Finland and Sweden.