- Mexican restaurant chain Wahaca has been acquired by Luke Johnson’s investment vehicle Risk Capital Partners in a deal aimed at supporting the brand’s next phase of growth. Johnson is a well-known hospitality investor whose private equity firm has previously backed businesses including Bread Holdings – owner of Gail’s, The Laine Pub Company, The Draft House and Small Batch Coffee. Commenting on the deal, Wahaca CEO Gemma Glasson said she was looking forward to working with Johnson and the Risk Capital Partners team, adding: “He understands hospitality better than almost anyone in the UK.” Wahaca announced in March that it had appointed advisory firm BDO to find a new strategic partner that could inject fresh capital into the business and help drive its next stage of expansion.
- Dom Taylor, the Caribbean food specialist behind The Good Front Room in Dalston, has died. A grandchild of the Windrush generation, Taylor started his career in kitchens cooking European food before building a successful Caribbean private catering business. He then won Channel 4’s Five Star Kitchen: Britain’s Next Great Chef in 2023, earning the opportunity to launch The Good Front Room at The Langham hotel in central London. Working closely alongside the programme’s host Michel Roux, Taylor reimagined much-loved dishes such as jerk chicken and ackee and saltfish. Although originally conceived as a six-month pop-up ending in December 2023, the restaurant’s success led The Langham to extend its residency before it closed on 30 April 2024. Taylor later spent a brief period running the more casual Marvee’s Food Shop in Notting Hill before opening a permanent standalone version of The Good Front Room earlier this year at Thomas Tower, beside Dalston Junction station.
- The government has withdrawn its updated tipping code of practice less than three months before it was due to come into force. As part of the Employment Rights Act, the government had planned to strengthen existing tipping legislation from 1 October 2026, with new rules requiring hospitality businesses to consult staff on their tipping policies. However, the revised code of practice was withdrawn following calls from the Unite union for it to be scrapped. The union argued that the proposed changes were ‘flawed’ and could disadvantage lower-paid workers on insecure contracts by allowing employers to redistribute tips to help offset the pay of other staff. The move prompted criticism from trade body UKHospitality, which says the government’s U-turn has left the sector in limbo. It is now urging ministers to provide urgent clarity on the status of the draft code of practice and its implementation, with the planned start date now less than three months away.
- Shaun Searley will leave Clerkenwell’s Quality Chop House later this summer after 13 years as executive chef. Searley is stepping down to pursue a long-held ambition of opening his own restaurant. Current Quality Chop House head chef Nathan Chapman, who has worked alongside Searley for the past seven years, will take over the kitchen from August, ‘continuing the values, standards and spirit that have made Quality Chop House what it is today’. Quality Chop House, one of London’s oldest continuously operating restaurants, traces its history back to 1869. The Farringdon Road site was acquired by William Lander and business partner Daniel Morgenthau in 2011 before reopening the following year. Renowned for its steaks and chops, alongside signature dishes such as Hereford mince on dripping toast; and whipped cod’s roe and chicken liver parfait with truffle, the restaurant is part of Lander and Morgenthau’s Woodhead Restaurant Group.
- The Restaurant Group (TRG) has sold its concessions division to travel dining and retail operator Areas Group. The deal marks the culmination of a period of independent growth for TRG Concessions under the ownership of Apollo-managed funds. Over the past three years, the business has expanded its presence across UK airports by renewing contracts, refurbishing existing sites, securing new locations and franchise partners, and taking over the operation of Wagamama restaurants in airports. As part of the agreement, TRG Concessions will continue to operate the Wagamama brand in UK airports under a franchise agreement while also exploring opportunities to expand the brand into airports across Europe. In June, TRG Concessions launched its new grab-and-go concept, Wagamama On the Move, at Heathrow Airport Terminal 5. Designed specifically for travellers, the format offers a faster, more flexible version of the Wagamama experience while retaining the brand’s signature flavours.