Eat (styled as EAT.) was a chain of

sandwich shop A sandwich bar is a restaurant or take-away food shop that primarily sells sandwiches. Some sandwich bars also offer other types of fare, such as soups, grilled foods. and meals. Notable sandwich bars include Subway and Arby's Arby's is an ...

s that was founded in 1996 by Niall and Faith MacArthur and later owned by

Pret a Manger Pret A Manger (''prêt à manger'' is French for ''ready to eat'') is an international sandwich shop franchise chain based in the United Kingdom, popularly referred to as Pret, founded in 1983. As of December 2022, Pret had 434 shops in the UK ...

. It had 95 branches in the United Kingdom, 75 of which were in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. It announced the closure of its UK stores in March 2020. , there are two remaining non-UK entities of EAT., Paris

Gare du Nord The Gare du Nord (; English: ''station of the North'' or ''Northern Station''), officially Paris-Nord, is one of the six large mainline railway station termini in Paris, France. The station accommodates the trains that run between the capital ...

(under franchise partner

SSP Group SSP is a British multinational contract foodservice company, with headquarters in London, England. It operates more than 2,800 branded catering and retail units at over 180 airports and 300 railway stations across 35 countries as a concessionaire ...

) and in Spain (under franchise partner Ibersol).

Foundation

The first shop was opened in October 1996 in Villiers Street, London, next to

Charing Cross railway station Charing Cross railway station (also known as London Charing Cross) is a central London railway terminus between the Strand and Hungerford Bridge in the City of Westminster. It is the terminus of the South Eastern Main Line to Dover via Ashf ...

. Founded and run by couple Niall and Faith MacArthur, the company is similar to

insofar as all the produce is freshly made, although it operates from a centralised production facility. The style of Eat outlets was designed by David Collins who also designed the look of

Café Rouge Café Rouge is a French-styled restaurant chain, with 30 sites across the United Kingdom. Café Rouge is part of a bigger restaurant network owned by Casual Dining Group. History Café Rouge was founded by Roger Myers and Karen Jones, in ...

Ownership history

The business, then owned by Penta Capital who had bought a stake in the firm in August 2005, was bought by private equity firm Lyceum Capital (later re-branded Horizon Capital) in March 2011. Annual sales were £68 million in 2008 and approximately £100 million in 2012. The 2012 profit was £2.7 million. In November 2012, the company opened a £1 million flagship outlet in the

Strand, London Strand (or the Strand) is a major thoroughfare in the City of Westminster, Central London. It runs just over from Trafalgar Square eastwards to Temple Bar, where the road becomes Fleet Street in the City of London, and is part of the A4 ...

. Eat expanded with operations in France and Spain through franchise agreements. In May 2019, having struggled in an increasingly competitive market and having made a loss of £17m the previous year, Eat was acquired by Pret a Manger. Pret a Manger suggested that it may use the chain's locations to expand its Veggie Pret format to cater for a growing trend towards

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...

and

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism m ...

food. On 23 March 2020, it was announced that the remaining 90 UK Eat branded restaurants were to close permanently. , there were two remaining non-UK entities of EAT, Paris

(under franchise partner

) and in Spain (under franchise partner Ibersol).

Philanthropy

Eat has said that it donates unsold food items to charities and hostels.

Footnotes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eat 1996 establishments in England 2020 disestablishments in England British companies disestablished in 2020 British companies established in 1996 Companies based in London Fast-food chains of the United Kingdom Defunct fast-food chains Restaurants disestablished in 2020 Restaurants established in 1996

Foundation

Ownership history

Philanthropy

See also

Footnotes

External links