Italian restaurant group Papa Tony's plans multimillion-pound expansion
Glasgow-based Italian restaurant group Papa Tony's is planning a multimillion-pound expansion across the UK.
The group, which currently has two restaurants in Glasgow, hopes to open at least 23 new outlets within the next five years creating 500 jobs in the process.
Papa Tony's, which is owned by Asian entrepreneur Tony Hussain, will invest an initial £2m to create three new restaurants in Glasgow by then end of this year. It is then hoping to roll out further restaurants in major Scottish locations as well as in England.
Hussain, who also owns and runs the Cafe India in Glasgow's Merchant City and has interests in more than 30 other restaurants across Scotland, said he is looking for rapid expansion of the business.
"Papa Tony's is going to be a UK wide brand. Within the next few months we will have five up and running in Glasgow and at least another 20 across Scotland and south of the border in the next five years," he said.
He added that since opening the first Papa Tony's restaurant in Glasgow's Sauchiehall Street and the second at Springfield Quay last year the increasingly popular brand has seen business grow by more than 25% over the last six months.
Papa Tony's is the first Halal Italian restaurant chain in the UK.
Hussain said: "All my meat, fish, vegetables and other ingredients are bought fresh from local businesses. People are fed up with being fobbed off with food that has been prepared in big industrial-style factories and then re-heated by untrained kitchen staff for which they are expected to pay a premium price.
"At Papa Tony's we know exactly where the food we serve comes from and that's what people want. We also understand that if we support local businesses it helps the community and they support us."
