The owner of restaurant chain Tomahawk Steakhouse is mulling the purchase of his own meat wholesaler in moves to keep prices down.
Howard Eggleston first launched the popular steak restaurants with the inaugural site in Potto, North Yorkshire, five years ago, specialising in the supersize Tomahawk steaks, Himalayan salt dry-aged beef and Yorkshire wagyu.
Its popularity triggered more openings across the North East and beyond, with the firm now operating 17 sites around the UK under three brands – Rio Brazilian Steakhouse, Tomahawk Steakhouse and Pollo – including bases in Yarm, Newcastle, Jesmond, Ponteland, and its first in London.
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Rising beef prices have led to Mr Eggleston taking matters into his own hands, and he is now in negotiations with a wholesaler in the hope of sealing its purchase.
He told a recent hospitality trade conference: “Beef-wise, we’re looking to buy our own wholesaler so we can be in charge of our own destiny – so we can take their margin out and return that lower price into our restaurant direct. We’re halfway through negotiations to buy our own distribution centre.
“We’ve put prices up on a few key lines where we can make cash difference to the business rather than across the whole menu, so it doesn’t look much different, and those slight increases will cover us for the next six months. We’ve got room to play as we’re not at the top end – we could get another 10% to 15% in our key lines and the customer wouldn’t really notice.”
The company is also keen to launch its own training school to help the current hospitality sector’s recruitment crisis, while having discussions with investors amid ambitious growth plans.
In February the firm revealed it was in talks with a number of private equity firms, which could help it take its portfolio to more than 50 sites, and those talks are continuing on a daily basis, the company said.
The group will have 22 restaurants by the end of July with new additions Chester and Saltburn being joined by Morpeth, Harrogate, York, Didsbury, Sunderland and Durham.
Looking ahead, Mr Eggleston is keen to grow the Rio and Tomahawk brands, including the creation of more sites similar to the Newcastle Quayside base which has a Tomahawk and Rio Steakhouse over two floors.
He added that he was happy with his price point for customers: “I think we’re pitched just a little bit above Miller & Carter in the marketplace – we’re not Hawksmoor and don’t intend to be, and I think we do a pretty good job of that. We do have a bit of a tug-of-war with them in Newcastle, and the staff are very competitive. It’s opening a huge site in York right next to our unit, so that should be entertaining.”
