Gastropub pioneers secure third site

22-Feb-2012 - Last updated on 12-Mar-2017 at 02:53 GMT

QHA Limited, the pub company run by gastropub pioneers Michael Kittos and Tony Wolfe, has secured its third site, a former Samuel Smith pub in central London.

The Duke of York on New Cavendish Street, Marylebone, has been taken on a nil premium, free-of-tie lease by QHA. The company plans to re-open the pub after Easter under the new name the Fat of the Land.
Davis Coffer Lyons advised the Howard de Walden Estate, which owns the property, while QHA Limited was advised by Chris Heard. The pub was previously run by Samuel Smith, the reclusive Yorkshire brewer.
QHA also runs the Queen’s Head and Artichoke near Regents Park, which was opened in 2002, and the Norfolk Arms near Russell Square, which opened in 2006. Kittos and Wolfe were part of the early gastropub movement in London with their first venture, the Peasant in Clerkenwell, which opened in 1993 and was later sold.
Kittos said: “We had been looking for some time for our next opportunity. We felt that Marylebone had the perfect blend of village ambiance and bustling office community, and that there was a real gap in the market in this area to expand our concept.”
The Fat of the Land is set to serve pan-Mediterranean style food upstairs. A breakfast offer will be available.