Honest Burgers aims to quadruple its number of restaurants by 2030

Honest Burgers chief executive Thomas Kelly has said the casual dining chain is aiming to quadruple the size of its business within six years.

The brand currently has 39 restaurants across England and Wales and Kelly told The Caterer it had "ambitious plans" to expand further north beyond its London base.

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 2.5 years.

Kelly said the Honest model was adaptable and could fit into different sized spaces.

The expansion will start with the launch of Honest’s new quick-service smash burger concept, which was first announced in 2023. The brand crowdfunded almost £3m towards its expansion and rollout of the new concept at the end of last year.

Honest has already experimented with smashed products in its current estate, including this month’s special menu item of 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, he said the company would not forget its existing estate during its expansion.

"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.

Kelly took over as chief executive of Honest in January, having previously led McDonald’s in Finland and Sweden.

Look out for the full Thomas Kelly interview on The Caterer website soon.