Restaurant chain tucks into expansion

A restaurant chain serving up American comfort food has made Southampton its operational base for expansion across southern England.

Co-founded by Matt Mollicone, 33, and Rich Zammit, 37, 7Bone Burger Co booked into Ocean Village Innovation Centre with a four-desk space.

The ‘dirty’ burger specialist required a serviced office location in their home city as the business looks to roll out a presence in various towns and cities following private equity backing.

7Bone Burger Co’s first outlet opened in Portswood Road, Southampton, three years ago.

That was followed by Bournemouth and Camberley, with Reading due to open in late February and Newbury in spring.
To date, 105 are employed by the business.

Rob Greenberg, centre manager at Ocean Village Innovation Centre, said: “Matt and Rich are very much on the expansion trail with 7Bone Burger Co and they chose us because of our convenient location and entrepreneurial support."

“We have 40 businesses working at our vibrant centre and this is the first time we’ve had one from the restaurant sector. It brings a new exciting dynamic to an energising, diverse mix.

“It may well be that our latest occupier buys in the expertise of other companies on site because of a thriving ecosystem where customers conduct business with one another.

“Unfortunately for our customers and staff, there won’t be any burgers cooked on site – we’ll have to ask Matt and Rich for takeaways...”

“We’re grateful to Rob and his team for the warm welcome and we will indeed bring back any leftovers, although most of our diners tend not to leave any.”

According to recent industry figures, the UK restaurant sector rose by 5% in 2015 to £20.9 billion, with the ‘fast casual’ market helping drive revenues.

OVIC, which has 70 serviced offices and is operated by Oxford Innovation, Britain’s leading operator of innovation centres for start-ups and early-stage firms, has 85% occupancy, with just 40 workstations available.