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opened a new Thai dining concept , then called Busaba Eathai , on Wardour Street in Soho , London . Alan is perhaps most famous for founding the Wagamama brand , as well as numerous other Chinese and Cantonese inspired eateries like Yauatcha , Duck and Rice , and Hakkasan . Under his leadership , the first Busaba restaurant experienced early success and Alan opened a further two sites in Central London before selling the business in 2008 .
Hungry for success
Its new owners , Phoenix Capital Partners , opened six more London sites , and then a partnership with Muzinich in 2016 inspired nationwide expansion . Restaurants were opened in Liverpool , Manchester , and St Albans , with plans to expand further north to Leeds , Reading , and Edinburgh . However , the anticipated expansion did not go to plan , and all restaurants subsequently closed .
On the brink of crisis , Muzinich took a controlling stake in the business at the end of 2017 . “ That ’ s where I enter the story ,” Terry informs us . “ I had been involved with the casual dining market since 1999 and became self-employed in 2014 to consult across several retail and casual dining customers .
“ I was introduced to Muzinich through a former manager and initially started on a six-month contract . Five years later and I ’ m still here ; I think my sense of keeping things simple combined with my ambitious goals , both personally and for the business , appealed to Busaba ’ s overarching goal .
“ My role started with unpicking the problems associated with the previous owners ’ goal to expand further in too little time ,” he explains . “ A couple of years went by and our vision for the future started to become a reality . We reset our focus back to London and upon our 20th anniversary in 2019 , we went through a complete rebrand .”
Led by London design agency , Paul Belford , the company ’ s new identity reenergized the brand while celebrating
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