Cult burger business Meat:Stack has announced plans to expand out from its North East heartland with a new eatery in Leeds.
Meat:Stack has been cooking up American-style cheeseburgers since 2016, having started out with a stall at Newcastle’s Quayside market, run by founders Charlie Mair, Allan Hyslop and Tom Westman.
Having perfected its burger stacks over six years, moving from pop-ups at No 28 and the Dog and Parrot to a Grainger Market Unit, Meat:Stack moved into its very own bricks and mortar home in Newcastle’s Bigg Market in 2020.
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The firm’s founders helped the growing company join the Bigg Market regeneration project when it moved into the former George Rye and Sons building.
Despite the challenges of the pandemic, Meat:Stack - which also has a twin foodie business FED's Fried Chicken - been able to beef up its growth plans, resulting in the trio settling on a city centre site in Leeds, which is set to open this Spring.
It will invest more than £250,000 into the new store, creating up to 20 jobs in a range of roles including management, front of house and kitchen staff.
Ahead of the firm revealing the exact location of the store, Mr Hyslop explained why they chose Leeds to become the base for a second site – and also revealed others may follow elsewhere.
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He said: "We have done a few pop up events down there over the years, especially at the likes of Leeds Indie Food and North Brewing company. We have always had a great relationship with our followers down there and love the sense of community within the Leeds food scene.
"The thing which struck us most about Leeds is that sense of community and how well the food businesses in the city work together. That is something we are very keen to embed ourselves in.
“We want to work with local Leeds companies to help us deliver our core product to its upmost potential. This is an approach which has served us incredibly well in Newcastle and we can’t wait to get started in Leeds.
“In Newcastle we use local butchers, coffee suppliers, bakeries, breweries, patisseries and soft drinks companies – we have already started some of these conversations in Leeds but we’re keen to hear from anyone that might make a good collaborator or supplier.
“The location will be announced in due course – it’s very central and we cannot wait to make it our home and to meet everyone.
“Starting on the Quayside Market in 2016, the dream was always to have multiple stores in multiple cities and this is the start of that now. We are looking at further stores around the North of England but this is the big one – the first time we have gone outside our own city to set up a permanent store.
“It’s obviously been a very challenging couple of years with the pandemic and with ever-changing guidance making trading very difficult to predict.
“We have come through it and have assembled a great team in Newcastle who we are very proud of. We have also managed to become an Accredited Actual Living Wage Employer which we are very proud of. Hopefully this is the next big step in the Meat:Stack story.”