Licensing delay hits Brazz
The plans of West Country restaurateur Kit Chapman to open a second Brazz restaurant have been delayed by two months after a wrangle about obtaining a full licence.
Chapman set up the English Brasserie Company to expand Brazz into a national chain, and the next restaurant was supposed to open in January. The company has raised £1.7m from private investors for the expansion.
Chapman, proprietor of the Castle hotel in Taunton, opened the first Brazz by the hotel, although it is operated separately.
The 200-seat Exeter restaurant was scheduled to open in January in Palace Gate, near the city's cathedral, but it was refused a full licence after a local resident objected. Although this was later retracted, the delay put the opening back until March 2000.
"Once we get this up and running we will look for a site in the South-east. This time next year we should be well on our way to another Brazz," said Chapman.
