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London chef Mark Hix is opening a restaurant in Soho on the site of a high-profile establishment that fell victim to the credit crunch.
In what industry figures hailed as a “green shoot” of recovery for the sector, Hix is to take over the premises of Gary Yau's short-lived Japanese restaurant, Aaya.
His move follows a government report on London's restaurants which said the sector was coping well with the recession. It found that almost two thirds reported a month-on-month increase in takings in June.
Hix, 47, was chef-director of Caprice Holdings, overseeing the Ivy and J Sheekey. He runs two successful restaurants in the capital, the Albemarle at Brown's Hotel in Mayfair and Hix Oyster and Chop House in Farringdon.
His new venture in Brewer Street will be called Hix. It will seat 80 and will have a basement bar which aims to have the ambience of a private club.
When Aaya went into administration in January after seven months of trading it was viewed as a casualty of the harsh economic environment hitting London's restaurants.
Yau — the brother of Hakkasan founder Alan Yau — opened it in May last year. But despite positive reviews and winning best oriental restaurant in the London Restaurant Awards it struggled to attract customers.
Steve Burns of property agency Shelley Sandzer was appointed by administrators Begbies Traynor to sell the site. He said: “This is definitely a positive sign — a green shoot — for the restaurant market.
“Gary Yau's concept was all wrong for Soho, it was a Mayfair-style establishment. If Hix gets the concept right and brings in the Soho crowd it can be a huge success.”
Richard Harden, co-founder of Hardens restaurant guide, said: “There is no question that this is good news but the industry has been faring better then people think. Nobody wants dark houses in the West End and thankfully there haven't been many.”
Today Business Link, the government-funded agency set up to help small businesses, said London's restaurateurs had reported positive signs in its monthly survey.
Almost a third of those surveyed said takings increased in June. More than half also reported an increase in takings compared with June last year.
