Mission Mars makes its way across the UK

"It's the biggest investment in a single venue that we've ever done with Mission Mars," says company CEO Roy Ellis, who points to further launches planned for other major UK cities such as Edinburgh, Newcastle and Bristol, as well as overseas.

A turning point for the business came in 2018, when Mission Mars brought in private equity firm BGF, which invested £10m. About half of that was shareholder sales, says Ellis, which left "sufficient cash" to pursue more Albert's Schloss sites, as well as to expand its Rudy's Pizza Napoletana brand.

The growth of Albert's Schloss

"The main reason for BGF investing was that they felt the original Albert's Schloss in Manchester was an amazing business with great potential growth," says Ellis, who leads Mission Mars with Neil Macleod –a partnership that goes back to their co-founding the Revolution bar chain in the 90s.

"BGF liked Rudy's but they were really investing in Schloss. Going into Covid, with no second Schloss site for 18 months felt awkward. So it was very satisfying to open in Birmingham and for it to be as successful as the original."

A review in the Birmingham Mail after the opening in 2021 declared: "If the owners could bottle the atmosphere of Albert's Schloss and sell it, they would be millionaires thousands of times over."

That seems to be exactly what the pair are trying to do, although Ellis is quick to say each site is "very individual. It's not like a rollout – it's like doing a whole new Albert's Schloss."

A year after the Birmingham launch, a third Schloss was opened, in Liverpool, and the sites now collectively turn over around £30m a year. It's the immersive atmosphere that ties the various city sites together, with guests enjoying hearty Alpine-inspired food, foaming tankards of European beer, and raucous live entertainment that has guests dancing on the benches.

Ellis says: "Getting that right, alongside ensuring the three current Schloss sites maintain their standards and all evolve at the same time, is a lot of work. I think Schloss will be great in London – it's a massive investment on Shaftesbury Avenue. We do a lot of entertainment, and there's so much talent and so many artists in London, we'll be a great home for them."

He is determined, though, not to "run out of steam" with openings and acquisitions. In particular, he wants to ensure no loss of focus as Rudy's expands simutaneously in the capital.

From a single Rudy's to a national brand

Since Mission Mars first acquired the single Rudy's in Manchester's Ancoats district in 2017, the pizza restaurant has grown rapidly to 19 branches across the UK, including two in London. The business now plans to open a new Rudy's branch every six to eight weeks up and down the country. The expansion includes five or six sites in London over the next year, which will be spearheaded by regional operations director Dave Elliot.

"Rudy's founders, Jim [Morgan] and Kate [Wilson] were fanatical about Neapolitan pizza, and Rudy's was making a big noise in Manchester," Ellis says. "But they were less enamoured with a lot of aspects of actually running the business, from VAT to recruitment, which is where we came in."

Mission Mars was drawn to Rudy's "low-fi fit-out", Ellis says. "They'd created a fantastic product. Rudy's was all about the pizza, so it had a minimalist fit-out – and minimalist cost."

Ellis persuaded Morgan and Wilson to "stay on board for a while," he says, "and even now they're still involved, in a modest way".

The original founders were running a family business, with reduced trading hours. But with longer opening hours, more covers and a few menu changes the original Ancoats site went from turning over £12,000 a week to £50,000. The second site opened by Mission Mars in 2018 next to Albert's Schloss was even more successful.

"But the pizza is still the star," Ellis adds. "We've adhered to many of Jim and Kate's original principles, but added some things we've learnt over the years about running successful premises. Every time we open a pizzeria, Jim and Kate go and give us their insights and feedback, and we're very appreciative of that. If we fell short on the pizza, they'd let us know!"

To expand, practical changes were necessary. Ellis explains: "Some purists might say it's not the same as it was, but rolling out the original Rudy's wouldn't have been sufficiently profitable to justify the building costs. It's quite basic, but a Rudy's can still cost £400,000-£500,000 to fit out, so to get a return you've got to do things a bit differently."

Introducing delivery to Rudy's

Like most of the hospitality industry, Mission Mars has faced rising costs. "With Rudy's, because of the pace of growth, we've been able to persuade our suppliers to give us better terms because we're fast-growing and can do higher volumes, which has offset what would otherwise have been increases," Ellis says.

One of the upsides to the pandemic was that it led Rudy's to introduce delivery, which has turned out to be a lucrative decision. Prior to Covid, Ellis and the team felt "slightly snobby" about home delivery, with concerns that the brand's pizzas wouldn't travel well.

The pandemic forced their hand, and now a typical Rudy's is doing 25% more sales post-Covid than pre-Covid, "all of which is Deliveroo", says Ellis. "It adds a lot to the efficiency of the venues. Our restaurants are about 70 to 90 covers, and a pizza oven is capable of doing around 200 pizzas an hour, so we've almost always got surplus capacity. Deliveroo has been exceptional for us."

While Rudy's simple offering allows the business to be lean, for Schloss, Ellis has had to look at the menu a little more creatively, using less expensive cuts of meat, for example. "We don't have steak any more," he points out. "We've looked at the menus to try to get anything close to a margin, and we've actually failed. Not wanting to increase prices dramatically, we've absorbed some of that cost. Despite the menu changes, we're probably still seven or eight percentage points off where you'd expect the food margin to be in our industry.

"For energy, we were in contract until October 2021, so were somewhat shielded. Since then it's been dramatic increases. It's been punishing. To offset those costs, we've looked at 5% or 6% price increases throughout the business, and we run regular exercises of analysing every single cost and taking out any inefficiency. We've managed to reduce energy consumption by about 20%, and through lots of little things like changing glassware or soap. Little changes can result in a £5,000 or £10,000 saving across the business."

Ellis's priority is to ensure that "our top line is healthy, and that our guests get a great experience", adding that the net promoter score metrics have risen two years in a row. "It's proved the quality of our offer, and that's allowed like-for-like sales to grow at a rate well beyond the price increases, so we've been able to drive some volume increases – which is the best antidote to cost pressure."

Getting a foothold in the capital is clearly a focus for both brands, but if Albert's Schloss is successful in the West End, it could open up opportunities internationally, Ellis believes.

"We could be taken seriously by developers and landlords in Dubai, Singapore, Las Vegas. The popularity and, to an extent, the financials, speak for themselves, but a lot of people would be swayed by, ‘I've heard of these guys, they do a storm in London.' It's easier to get other parties to join us at the table if we've got a successful Schloss in London."

Ellis points out that BGF is looking to double or treble its investment over four to five years. "To do that, we're looking at seven to 10 Rudy's a year, and at least one Schloss."

And with a current turnover of "about £60m to £70m" for Mission Mars, Ellis believes the business could add "about £20m" by the time it launches Albert's Schloss in London as well as another 10 Rudy's.

If the pizza and beer combination turns out to be as perfect a business pairing across the country as it is in its northern roots, then those BGF investors may soon be joining the other guests on the Albert's Schloss benches, dancing, singing and downing the steins.

On the Albert's Schloss menu

• Ultimat Alpine krokette: four mountain cheeses, tomato, herb sauce £7.50
• Kreuzberg chicken wings, beer chilli sauce, blue cheese dip £7.50
• Haus flammkuchen: haus-baked flatbread, fondue and crème fraiche, soft onions, asparagus ribbon, mountain herbs, with crispy prosciutto or sun-blushed tomato £7
• Schloss schnitzel: chicken breast, salsa verde, aioli, charred lemon, herbed new potatoes £17
• Baron burger: 7oz chuck, short-rib and smoked beef-fat patty, Taleggio cheese, crispy maple bacon, caramelised onion, crispy onion and truffle mayo, fries £18.50
• Coquille pretzel pie: scallop, haddock and prawn, Parmesan cream, buttery mash, sautéed cabbage, peas £18
• Sausage fest: bratwurst, kaiserwurst, chilli beef frankfurter, Bavarian potato salad, green salad, rainbow sauerkraut, pickles, haus mustard, curry ketchup £24
• Bavarian feast for two to four: roast pork knuckle, chicken schnitzel, bratwurst, kaiserwurst, honey roast pork belly, sformato (baked truffle mash with Alpine melting cheese), braised red cabbage, seasonal greens, bier jus, rainbow sauerkraut, pickles £65
• Black Forest gateau £8
• Baked Alaska flambé (for two): orange parfait, shortbread, blackberry compote, vanilla ice-cream, Italian meringue, flaming Grand Marnier £12

Rudy's way: train and retain

Mission Mars employs 1,200 people, and has recently launched two training academies to develop staff, from chefs to trainee managers. The business currently boasts an annual turnover of between £60m and £70m, which is expected to grow by 30% over the next year. To support that growth, the right people need to be attracted and retained.

"It's been our dream for a long time to have our own pizza school, and we've found the perfect location in Manchester, the home of the first Rudy's Pizza Napoletana," says Jo Branney, people and culture director at Mission Mars. "Every new Rudy's back of house team member from across the UK will come to the Rudy's Pizza Academy for their induction and to learn the Rudy's way."

The training on offer is not just for those wanting to learn how to be a pizzaiolo but also for experienced pizza chefs who don't know the Neapolitan technique.

The fast-track pizzaiolo training programme last 12 to 16 weeks and combines practical training with learning theoretical aspects of Neapolitan pizza and ingredients.

Last year Rudy's employed 150 pizza chefs, and its ambition is to "also attract younger, local people from the community who could have a fulfilling career with Rudy's, teaching them skills and techniques in a dedicated environment. We're looking at partnering with some local colleges, too."

The Hospitality Management Academy is in the same building as the Pizza Academy. "A big focus is our trainee assistant management programme, which takes someone from a supervisor position to a management position," says Branney. "They go through 12 courses within 12 months, and we'll do two intakes a year.

"Hospitality is full of people from different backgrounds, and when someone chooses to pursue their career with us we have a responsibility to support, coach and develop them to reach their potential. Our decision 18 months ago to become a Real Living Wage employer has been really important. We have a guest experience bonus, so colleagues at every level can increase their earning potential, and an attractive management bonus scheme, too."