North-eastern Indian chain Akbar's to expand into the Midlands

13 August 2009 by
North-eastern Indian chain Akbar's to expand into the Midlands

Yorkshire-based Indian restaurant chain Akbar's is set to expand into the Midlands, with the opening of a new outlet in Birmingham next month.

The company, which currently operates nine restaurants throughout the North of England in Leeds, Manchester, York, Sheffield and Middlesbrough, will launch the new restaurant on 24 September.

The 300-seat restaurant in Edgbaston will include a private function suite catering for up to 200 guests.

Shabir Hussain, managing director at Akbar's, said he was excited about the group's expansion into Birmingham.

"The city already has an excellent reputation for Asian cuisine so we are looking forward to offering our particular style of food and service within such a vibrant restaurant scene," he said.

Akbar's also has plans for a 300-seat restaurant in Newcastle city centre, which is scheduled to open next January 2010.

Acting on behalf of TGI Fridays, Christie + Co sold Akbar's the long leasehold on the 15,000 sq ft site - the former Liberty's nightclub and bar - off an asking price of £100,000.

Birmingham City Council recently launched a campaign to protect the famous Balti name by preventing Indian restaurants outside the city from using it.

The very first Balti dish, which is named after the pot it is cooked in, is believed to have been served in the city in the 1970s in the area now known as the "Balti Triangle".

Birmingham City Council claims that because the Balti originated in the city, it has the right to protect the name, similar to other protected goods such as the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie or Wensleydale cheese.

Indian experts refute Glasgow's claim to tikka masala >>

Birmingham council moves to restrict Balti name to the city >>

UK curry houses face staffing crisis >>

By Kerstin Kühn

E-mail your comments to Kerstin Kühn here.

If you have something to say on this story or anything else join the debate at Table Talk - Caterer's new networking forum. Go to www.caterersearch.com/tabletalk

Caterersearch.com jobs
Looking for a new job? Find your next restaurant job here with Caterersearch.com jobs

Blogs on Caterersearch.com](http://www.caterersearch.com/blogs) Catch up with more news and gossip on all Caterer's blogs
[Newsletters For the latest hospitality news, sign up for our e-mail newsletters.
The Caterer Breakfast Briefing Email

Start the working day with The Caterer’s free breakfast briefing email

Sign Up and manage your preferences below

Check mark icon
Thank you

You have successfully signed up for the Caterer Breakfast Briefing Email and will hear from us soon!

Jacobs Media is honoured to be the recipient of the 2020 Queen's Award for Enterprise.

The highest official awards for UK businesses since being established by royal warrant in 1965. Read more.

close

Ad Blocker detected

We have noticed you are using an adblocker and – although we support freedom of choice – we would like to ask you to enable ads on our site. They are an important revenue source which supports free access of our website's content, especially during the COVID-19 crisis.

trade tracker pixel tracking