With almost thirty sites in its portfolio, Byron is a good old fashioned burger bar serving good old fashioned burgers.
The Byron brand is the brainchild of founder Tom Byng and throughout 2012 the restaurant chain has continued to expand its sites throughout London, Oxford and Kent.
Discussing the Byron brand, Byron founder Tom Byng, said:
“During a four year stint in America, I ate enough hamburgers to sink the Titanic. My favourite diner was the Silver Top in downtown Providence, Rhode Island.
“In London in 2007, it struck me there weren’t any restaurants offering hamburgers like those at Silver Top. So the idea for Byron was born: to do a simple thing well, and do it properly.
“We source good beef from Scotland. We place it in a soft, squishy bun with minimum fuss and fanfare. We serve it with a smile in a comfortable environment. We have a few restaurants now, but our vision remains the same – keep serving hamburgers the way they should be.”
Leading architectural practice Michaelis Boyd Associates has provided architectural services to all of the Byron sites to date, starting with the brand’s very first restaurant in Kensington.
Throughout 2012, Michaelis Boyd Associates worked with interior designer Clare Nash and main leading contractors Gary Bluff Projects, Thompsons and Interiors UK, to complete eight sites for Byron. The practice worked with Gary Bluff Projects on sites in Spitalfields and Bluewater, they worked with Thompsons on sites in Oxford, Waterloo, Camden, Westbourne Grove and Store Street and they completed a site in Greenwich with Interiors UK.
Ben Masterton-Smith, Associate at Michaelis Boyd Associates, said:
“Clare Nash is the interior designer for Byron and is the person who starts the ball rolling on the initial design ideas and then Michaelis Boyd Associates get involved to help turn this concept into reality.
“We have been working with Byron from the very beginning. As the brand has evolved so too has the design, resulting in a much richer palette where each site now has a unique and site specific character.”
The most recent sites to open were Byron Store Street – which opened in November 2012 – and Byron Spitalfields – which opened in October 2012.
Byron Spitalfields is a 180-cover restaurant, split over ground floor and basement levels, whilst Byron Store Street is a smaller restaurant with 58-internal covers and 34-external covers.
Ben said:
“Before we started on Byron Spitalfields the building lacked character and this provided its own unique challenge so we had to ensure that during the refurbishment we could put the Byron stamp on to it, to really bring the site to life.”
During summer 2012, Byron opened sites in Camden, Oxford, Westbourne Grove and Bluewater.
Byron Bluewater site opened in May following the conversion of a former retail unit into the 160-cover restaurant. The installation of extraction and drainage systems were the key to getting the site operational and although this provided the construction team with a few challenges, once these aspects were accommodated the transformation ran very smoothly.
Following the opening of Byron Bluewater, Byron Westbourne Grove and Byron Oxford made their debut in June and July, respectively.
Work began on Byron Westbourne Grove in April and ran until the end of June. Byron Oxford opened the following month after quite a complicated refurbishment programme.
Commenting on Byron Oxford, Ben said:
“With Byron Oxford we had to obtain planning permission for a new build element at the back whilst retaining the existing shop front, and keep the neighbouring offices above the property happy and occupied during the works. We needed nine party wall awards to demolish a number of structures at the rear and we extended the basement whilst undertaking archaeological studies, which made it quite a complex project! However, we managed to complete the work within 20 weeks, on time and on budget, thanks to such a good team, delivering a project the client is very satisfied with.”
Additional sites for Byron which opened in 2012 include Byron Waterloo, Byron Greenwich and Byron Camden. Each site opened in March 2012.
Ben said:
“The Waterloo site encountered a few delays due to asbestos and damp, but these are inevitable issues which can often occur in sites of that nature and age.
“Greenwich was a new building within a World Heritage site. Originally the building had permission for two floors – later three – and had been designed as a coffee shop. Meanwhile the Camden site was installed in a converted office block. Byron Camden has 90-covers which are spread across one floor, with additional washroom and back of house facilities located on the floor above.”
Despite an extensive roll out scheme of Byron restaurants throughout 2012, the brand is continuing to develop its portfolio with more sites planned throughout 2013.
Ben said:
“Working with Byron is very important to Michaelis Boyd Associates. Byron doesn’t just roll out the same restaurant in a different location instead they create something different each time, which, from our point of view, provides us with projects that are varied, challenging and yet very interesting.
“We are extremely pleased with what we have achieved so far – as are Byron – and we look forward to continuing to develop the brand together.”
For more information about the Byron brand, please visit: www.byronhamburgers.com.
Templetons
Templetons is a contract cleaner providing services to restaurants, clubs and bars. The company has over twenty year’s experience in all aspects of cleaning, and in this time has worked on many high profile sites.
Projects within Templetons’ portfolio include Revolution Vodka bars, Cafe de Paris, DukeBox, Ministry of Sound and Hedkandi, Secrets Lap dancing clubs, amongst others. Templetons also work closely on a vast number of builders’ cleans – in pubs, restaurants and clubs – for WFC Interiors, Armfield Retail, Stenball Construction and Fairlands, to name a few. Templetons has a professional and approachable attitude to its work and is renowned for its reliability, discretion, flexibility and attention to detail.
Templetons’ bar cleaning services is conducted by a team of experienced and qualified cleaners and has been designed to eliminate the stress of cleaning premises thoroughly. Meanwhile, Templetons’ club cleaning service sees fully trained and insured cleaners visit premises in regular intervals at a client’s request.
The company’s club cleaning service includes regular daily cleaning, one off cleans, kitchen cleans, window cleaning, floor maintenance and emergency call out services. Templetons’ reputation is based on its customer satisfaction and developing long term relationships with its clients.
Templetons has worked on many Byron restaurants, providing contract cleaning services for each site.
Templetons Managing Director, Frank Templeton, said:
“We have an extensive portfolio of projects which we have built up from close working relationships with our clients.
“At Templetons we pride ourselves on our quality of work and flexibility. Not every job runs to schedule and there are often last minute changes to a working programme, so we adapt and deal with any situations as they arise.”
Frank added:
“As professional cleaners in London, we aim to minimise the costs and maximise the satisfaction of our clients. Using the best equipment available our experienced and qualified cleaners use the best known techniques and cleaning methods.
“We understand that every client has completely different requirements and make a huge effort to meet and exceed their expectations.”
For more information on Templetons please visit: www.templetonsltd.co.uk.
