New Uncle John restaurant opens in Bucharest mall

The Uncle John burger restaurant chain opened a new unit in ParkLake shopping mall in Bucharest last week. The owners expect the new restaurant to register EUR 400,000 sales in the first year, betting on an average order of RON 25 (some EUR 5.5). Moreover, they expect the new restaurant to register an annual increase of 10% in the first three years. The Uncle John brand appeared in 2015. Through its menu, the restaurant aims to get close to the “slow food” concept, offering products such as burgers, ribs, and other home-made grill dishes made from fresh products, according to Uncle Johns representatives. In the new unit in ParkLake mall, the food is made in an open kitchen, so people can see how their order is being made. Uncle John restaurants can also be found in Pipera Plaza and Sun Plaza in Bucharest. ParkLake was opened in September this year, after an investment of EUR 180 million. The new mall has a 70,000-sqm rentable area, and was developed by Sonae Sierra and Caelum Development. The food court area includes restaurants such as Pizza Hut, McDonald's, KFC, Oro Toro, Wu Xing, Chopstix, Spartan, and Salad Box. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com