Veteran restaurant change branches out into fast food in East London’s Brick Lane – with more venues to come
Efes, one of the UK’s longest-established Turkish restaurants, has launched a new chain that it hopes will transform the sector in London.
The new venture in Brick Lane, Efes Express, is an extension of the three restaurants that already carry the Efes brand.
But speaking at the opening ceremony, restaurant partners İbrahim Uzun, Kazım Akkuş and Sanjeev Chawla said this would be a fast-food offering.
Enfield councillor Ersin Celebi and businessmen from Turkey were among those attending the opening event.
Mr Uzun – the chief executive of the Efes group of restaurants – told Haber that the “Express” concept was an attempt to try something new in the UK. He said they had planned everything meticulously, from the logo to the standards of service.
The existing restaurants had proven popular in attracting customers in parts of London where lots of different communities lived among one another and the new approach was a way of taking things further, he said.
There will be more branches opening across London in the near future: it won’t be long before an Efes Express appears in the West End, Mr Uzun added.
The chief executive said the Efes name was already their registered trade mark and that they would pursue others who used the brand and profited from it.
The overall aim, he said, was to expand the company so that Efes attained a nationwide appeal – but without compromising on the quality, taste and service standards that customers have come to expect from the existing restaurants.
Efes Express is at 79 Brick Lane, London, E1 6QL. Telephone 020 7377 9349.