______________________________________________________________________________________________ Signature
Group
Consistency and creativity
As Signature continues to expand, it places equal focus on improving existing assets. Earlier this year, Signature invested £ 500,000 in the rooftop at Cold Town House, adding a retractable roof, a new terrace, and a fresh bar. Tom explains,“ For us, it was about keeping everything people love about the rooftop, while making it much more usable every season. It’ s a big investment, but it says a lot about how we treat our existing venues. Growth isn’ t just about opening new places; it’ s about always improving what we already have.”
Set to open in 2027, the Forrest Road development in Edinburgh takes this approach even further. Two concepts come together under one roof: a food-focused pub centered on local produce and charcoal cooking, alongside a sports-driven venue built for major sporting events.“ That contrast is intentional. Instead of making one concept try to be everything for everyone, we’ re creating two complementary experiences that fit different customers and occasions in one spot,” he shares.
Projects like Forrest Road give Tom the chance to bring together food strategy, operations, and customer insight. Throughout his career, he has worked across menu development, supplier partnerships, kitchen design, operational standards, and site launches. That experience spans both the creative and commercial sides of hospitality. At Signature, that perspective shapes how the business develops
concepts, evolves menus, and responds to changing customer expectations.
Part of Tom’ s role is turning the group’ s ambitions into food concepts and menus that work for customers, teams, and the business. Plenty of operators chase trends for inspiration, but Signature puts just as much focus on data, process, and how well things work in real time.“ Our food development is structured, collaborative, and increasingly driven by data. We always want to evolve and innovate, but that doesn’ t mean chasing every trend. It’ s about knowing our guests, seeing where the market’ s heading, and developing food that fits. We regularly analyze sales to see what guests are picking up, what’ s catching on, and where dishes might be underperforming.” The structure creates consistency as Signature grows, but it doesn’ t stifle creativity. Ideas come from all over the business. Each one goes through We have talented chefs everywhere, and we want ideas to come from our individual kitchens, not just our central food team foodchainmagazine. com 93