Hand-made Bread Fuels New Wave Sandwiches

 
The challenge of finding new gaps in London's huge sandwich bar market is being met by a few mini-chains which make dough on the premises and bake or grill it in front of customers. Amano (‘by hand') was created in 2004 and, aided by £2 m venture capital, now has four units trading on London's South Bank. Each bakes its own flatbread and pizza dough from scratch through the day, changing the ambience over a 16 hour trading day from quickservice sandwich/coffee shop to relaxed bar-restaurant in the evening. Other menu items include Wrapanini grilled wraps, pasta, soups and stews.
 
Amano CEO Jonathan Cooper (who previously co-founded the EAT chain and helped set up central European chain Coffeeheaven) feels that the extra perception of freshness and theatre is a significant, added-value point of difference against both sandwich bar and coffee shop chains. Amano average lunchtime spend is just over £5. The noon-2 pm queue problem is met by a calculated mix of make-to-order and grab-and-go. Two other new central London mini-chains attract customers with scratch-made bread to Italian recipes: Piada (two units) and Spianata & Co (three units).
 

 
www.amanocafe.com
 
www.spianata.co.uk
 
www.piada.co.uk
 

 
| 15 April 2008 |