Set to open early this month, the first Honest Smash + Grab has taken over the group’s London Liverpool Street restaurant and is being presented as a pop-up.
Restaurant understands that the group plans to open a dedicated site soon after, likely featuring a smaller footprint to better suit the quick-service restaurant model.
This move follows Honest Burgers, founded by Tom Barton and Phillip Eeles in 2011, raising nearly £3 million last year to help it 'challenge the big guys' in the QSR space with the new concept. The company now operates 39 restaurants across England and Wales.
Barton hopes the new concept will enable Honest Burgers to expand into locations it couldn't previously access, such as transport hubs.
Plans for the new QSR brand are driven by the success of Honest Burgers' lighter, lower-priced smashed burger and come amid a growing consumer demand for smash burgers in general.
Earlier this year, Honest Burgers outlined ambitious plans to 'quadruple the size of the business' by 2030, following what it described as 'exceptional results' for the first half of 2024, with like-for-like sales growth of 11%.
Profitability is also exceeding expectations, with EBITDA performance growing by more than 60%.
“We’ve had a great first half of this year, which follows a strong performance last year, showing that demand for great quality burgers at great value for money continues to grow,” says Honest Burgers CEO Matt Brandon.