He may now have eight Grand Union bars in London, but founder Adam Marshall says he’s not finished with his restaurant and bar empire in the capital yet
Do you know what makes me really happy?’ Adam Marshall looks at me quizzically. Considering from where I am sitting – a hugely successful entrepreneur and the man behind the ever-popular Grand Union chain of bars – the world appears to be his oyster. ‘When I get into a cab and say “can I go to the Grand Union?” and the cab driver says “no problem” without asking for directions. It took a little while [to reach that point], but that makes me smile.’
It’s nigh on eight years ago that Adam first hatched his plan for a bar that offered unfussy, but high quality food in an indulgent setting, before becoming the party place to be as darkness descended. We are sitting inside Grand Union Camden, which was the first of the eight London destinations that exist today. ‘I was running a bar just down the road and, one day, I saw the shutters go up here and literally the next morning I was knocking on the door, looking through the windows, waiting outside for someone to turn up so I could get a contact. It was a right place at the right time scenario.’
The response was so good that, within four months of opening the Camden site, a second Grand Union opened in London and the roster today includes a site in Farringdon. ‘This is the sort of place I feel comfortable in,’ he explains the thought process behind the design. ‘I like old leather, I like the bits of Victorian furniture, I like the mismatch feel to it.’ Does each site have its own personality? ‘They do, by definition of why I have chosen the property,’ he nods. ‘I would choose a property by the fact it has a USP, something different about it. Farringdon, for example, has the vaults downstairs. Each site has its own personality running through it.’
Each site boasts an impressive range of events running late into the night, and I’ve eaten at both the Farringdon and Camden outlets and have to say their burgers are top notch. ‘I am a chef by trade, so quality is very important to me,’ Adam responds, looking pleased with my statement. ‘We originally just had a list of ten different burgers on the menu and that was it, and we were selling them out of the door. People know us for our burgers from those early days.’ Does he still venture into the kitchen? ‘I put on my chef’s whites just last week to develop some of the food items,’ he answers. ‘We may be looking at putting a couple more items on the menu to build it up a bit. So I was in the kitchen and just getting in the way really!’
Stating that he always had a business plan to expand the Grand Union offering from day one, I remark that his enthusiasm for the job doesn’t seem to have diminished over time. ‘What I can’t get rid of is the drive, the constant get up and do it again, week after week, year after year,’ Adam states. ‘I am still a little surprised I am still doing this, but we are tighter, more profitable, more consistent, and more popular with our customers than we have ever been. That’s not down to me – that’s down to a lot of other good people. The lead is me getting up and continuing to do it. I am never late for a meeting and I never finish earlier than anybody else – and if you lead in that fashion then everybody understands the expectations. I don’t think I have switched off for the last ten years, I really don’t.’
Have there been any regrets since launching the first Grand Union? ‘There’s always businesses that, given the chance again, I wouldn’t have taken on,’ he says honestly. ‘We grew Grand Union to 12 sites at one stage, with one outside London up near Milton Keynes. Before the recession, there was the idea to have some sub-brand foodie Grand Unions in the Home Counties – after all, I am a chef and have a high interest in food. But having a business 60-70 miles up the M1 didn’t work with the control aspect to it. There have been two sites in London that I probably wouldn’t have taken on, but essentially we have made the right decisions and made them work.’
Any failed projects certainly haven’t knocked Adam’s business plan off course and he confidently states he wants to continue to grow at pace. ‘I can see Grand Union being in East, North, South, West and Central London. I can see at least 20 Grand Unions around the capital.’ There appears to be plenty of cab journeys on the horizon to make Adam Marshall a happy man.
Interview by Mark Kebble
55 Charterhouse StreetEC1M 6HA; 020 7251 5259; grandunionbars.com
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