Café Rouge takes Bristol Brazz site
West Country restaurateur and hotelier Kit Chapman has sold his Brazz brasserie in Bristol. The lease will be taken by Café Rouge, on the expansion trail after securing £13.5m of funding last month.
Bristol-based First Step homes has bought the freehold of the premises from Brazz and granted a new lease to Café Rouge owner Tragus Holdings. The agent was Davis Coffer Lyons.
Chapman said the Bristol branch, which opened in May 2002, had been performing well financially but was sold because "it was not a Brazz. It didn't confirm to the Brazz concept."
Brazz, which also has branches in Taunton and Exeter, is intended as a British version of the traditional French brasserie, with as much emphasis on the bar area as the restaurant.
The bar in Bristol was too small, said a spokeswoman for the company. Chapman is now seeking another site in Bristol.
He is also opening a 300-seat Brazz at Cardiff's new Wales Millennium Centre in November, along with a Champagne and wine bar called Fizz.
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