How UK failed the taste test in America

EXPORTING restaurant brands from Britain to America has left a nasty taste in the mouths of many investors.

One of the first to discover how tough life could be was Luke Johnson, whose Belgo chain opened in 1999 in Manhattan’s East Village, only to close two years later because of a lack of customers.

A year later PizzaExpress, which shared the same American partner as Belgo, closed its San Marzano outlets in Washington and Philadelphia, after discovering that selling pizza to the Americans was probably not its best idea.

Of greater encouragement to Wagamama’s ambitions will be the experience of La Tasca, the tapas bar operator, which has successfully opened four eateries in Washington, Baltimore and Virginia.

Another British company seeking to win over American palates is YO! Sushi, the conveyor-belt sushi bar chain founded by the former Dragons’ Den star Simon Woodroffe. The company is hoping to sign up five partners to become franchisees.