O’Briens Sandwich Bar has launched its 39th Scottish outlet in the Royal Mile, right in the historic heart of Edinburgh’s city centre at 64 High Street. Behind the new venture are franchise partners Ken Merchant and Bill Watson who are employing a further eight full time staff to make up the team at this, their second O’Briens outlet in the capital.

The Edinburgh outlet, one of ten new stores to open for O’Briens in Scotland this year, introduces all elements of the franchise chain’s new concept offering including a healthy juice bar. This follows a one million Euro investment by the sandwich and coffee bar franchise in a new concept store design and menu, offering customers more choice than ever before.

“Obviously, we were immediately attracted to the appeal of such a tremendous location, which will help boost the strength of the O’Briens brand at a time when the proposition could not be stronger,” said franchisee Ken Merchant. “New specials and seasonal variations are being added to core menus, guaranteeing our customers an abundant and flexible food offering. Come the autumn, we will introduce the brand new O’Briens hot carvery serving succulent organic roasts.

“Our Royal Mile outlet is one of the first O’Briens in Scotland to introduce a juice bar with real fruit juices and smoothies. We are sure it will prove as popular as our famous made to order sandwiches and gourmet coffees, as well as our healthy Guilt Free Food and Low Fat Five choices.”

Ken and Bill aim to replicate the success of their South Bridge outlet in Edinburgh, which they took over in 2004 and built into an award winning store in under a year. They attribute their success to a combination of hard work and 15 years previous experience running hotels and restaurants. Managing their Royal Mile outlet is Willie Peattie who, like themselves, brings a wealth of knowledge to the business.

The outlet is situated diagonally opposite John Knox’s House in the Radisson SAS hotel building, which has been sympathetically designed to blend in with its historic neighbours. Not only will it offer takeaway and seating for 74. A dedicated preparation unit has also been incorporated on site to expand the outside catering offer.

“Building up loyalty and attracting passing custom is important but perhaps most crucial to our success is a robust outside catering offering, which takes our business beyond the shop door,” said Ken. “We are really concentrating on developing this element of our business.”

To mark their new launch during the first few weeks, special discount vouchers are being distributed to shoppers, tourists and businesses in the area. The Royal Mile outlet is open during the festival from 7am to 9pm, Mondays to Fridays, and 8am to 8pm, Saturdays and Sundays. Advance orders and information on the outside catering offer are available by calling the team on 0131 558 7834 or fax: 0131 557 0921.

O’Briens Sandwich Bar outlets in Scotland can also be found in Aberdeen, Dundee, Dunfermline, Edinburgh, where there are now nine outlets, East Kilbride, Falkirk, Glasgow, Glasgow Airport, Hamilton, Inverness, Paisley and Perth. More information on O’Briens, including franchising opportunities, is available at www.obriensonline.com, or by calling Freephone UK 0800 97 38 88.

ENDS

More about the team behind High Street -

Ken Merchant and Bill Watson haven’t looked back since taking over the O’Briens Irish Sandwich Bar last year in South Bridge, Edinburgh, the very first of the franchise chain’s outlets to open in the Scottish capital back in 1999. The city now boasts nine outlets.

They have been busy revitalising the outlet and boosting the outside catering business, which has been steadily going from strength to strength in the past six months. What has proved a successful start is little wonder given the experience they have brought to their new business and the O’Briens brand.

Fifteen years ago, Ken left behind his career in HR and moved into the hotel business with Bill, who had spent 20 years in the civil service. Having always wanted to develop a business of his own, Bill had already started a guesthouse in Edinburgh when they first met.

Soon they decided to combine their resources and opt for something a little grander instead. They took over the city’s Salisbury View Hotel developing it into a successful three star business with a reputable restaurant.

Ten years later, Ken and Bill moved to Perth where they ran the four-star Parklands Hotel for four years. Within this Victorian country house setting, they established a fine dining restaurant, bistro and bar, creating one of Perthshire’s top-rated hotels reflected in its many accreditations including an AA Rosette.

“When we sold Parklands, we had every intension to take early retirement but soon realised this was not for us,” said Ken. “I’m 58 and Bill is 55, so we still have a lot more to give.

“Whenever you commit your own finance, you need to enter any business with a degree of caution. With our experience it was obvious that we should look at business opportunities in catering and franchising really appealed.

“Having set up and operated our own independent businesses in the past, we knew that any new venture always involves high risk. Sure you can take more risks when you are in your 20s or 30s as you have more time to recover from any mistakes. But when you are in your mid to late 50s as we are, you have to really limit those risks.

“We felt a franchise offered a greater degree of support and a greater certainty of success. I’m glad to say that we still see it that way.”

Ken and Bill first came across O’Briens through an ad in a Scottish national daily seeking new franchisees. Catering with a franchise such as O’Briens seemed to them to be the perfect fit.

They received the necessary details and met with the O’Briens Scottish support team to find out more. Ken also spoke directly with franchisees already operating in Edinburgh and the largely positive feedback was the encouragement they were looking for to make the commitment.

Ken spent an intensive week’s training in Dublin, learning about the O’Briens brand in the place of its inception. He found this very reassuring, giving him a clear insight to a company that in his opinion was bursting with enthusiasm and one backed by a fabulous support network.

South Bridge provided them with an established, high visibility site for their first outlet. Yes, having thought of retirement not that long ago, they already have their sites set on expansion. The city centre outlet is adjacent to Edinburgh University, it enjoys a high footfall and is especially busy during the Festival period when it often opens to 9pm to meet demand.

Bringing their individual strengths to the business sees Ken front of house managing and marketing the shop with Bill providing the vital financial and administrative backup to the business. They employ five staff including a supervisor and delivery driver to make up their team at South Bridge. The brand is further boosted by their own injection of personality, a talent they brought from their previous hotels, also very much people businesses.

“Our working partnership of 15 years has certainly stood the test of time. We work well together, complementing each other’s strengths,” said Ken.

“Even although we opted for a franchise, we were well aware at the outset that this would be no shortcut for hard work. When we are asked to offer prospective franchisees an insight to the business, this is one of the key aspects we are keen to communicate.

“Without hard work you simply can’t achieve success. But who says it can’t be fun too!”