21st April 2022
Jyotin Sethi, co-founder of JKS Restaurants, has said it takes three to six months for the business, which backs the likes of Bao, Berenjak and Hoopers, to decide whether a new concept will work.
Sethi was referring to the group’s relaunch of the Arcade Food Hall in London’s Centre Point, which features nine new food brands.
“I think realistically, it’s three to six months in terms of that development, or testing phase, but we’ve got a bank of ideas that we’re working on a constant basis. We pride ourselves as a group on providing innovation and pushing boundaries and creating new ideas. The nine brands we’ve created for Arcade are unique for this location. So, if some work, great, if some don’t work, that’s also fine. We have other ideas we can swap out some and replace them with.”
Sethi said the biggest challenge for the business was staffing:: “We as a group employ more than 1,000 people and I’d say today we have almost 150 vacancies. It’s an ongoing challenge. I think as a sector we’ve got to do better at attracting people into the industry and show them that it’s a great place to work, learn and develop.”
He said the business hasn’t yet seen the impact of the “cost of living crunch” adding, “The reassurance I have is for people in the UK, eating out and drinking out is very much part of the social fabric. I’m a real optimist about the long-term prospects of the sector. I think there’s a structural change and a structural shift that will happen. But you know, we’ll be okay on the other side.”