Itsu


Itsu is a British chain of East Asian-inspired fast food shops and restaurants, and a grocery company.
The chain was founded by Julian Metcalfe, co-founder of sandwich chain Pret a Manger and founder of Metcalfe's Food Company, in partnership with Clive Schlee. The first Itsu store opened in Chelsea, London in 1997. As of November 2016 Itsu has 70 stores throughout England. In 2018, Itsu had more than 90 stores in England, including 50 in London.
Itsu has reported financial data as follows:
In April 2013, Itsu announced plans to open 20 more stores in London over the next three years. By September 2013, Itsu opened its first shop outside London, in Oxford.
In July 2014, Itsu launched its 50th store, in Richmond, London. It announced intentions to open 30 more stores in the next few years.
In January 2016, Itsu expanded into Northern England, choosing Spinningfields in central Manchester as the site for its first Northern store. The chain later opened a branch in Leeds.

US launch

In 2017, Julian Metcalfe confirmed his plans to launch its first restaurant in New York in 2018. The restaurant was opened in New York in June 2018.

Itsu Grocery

In March 2012, Metcalfe's Food Company, run by Robert Jakobi, launched the Itsu brand into retail under the name Itsu . As of September 2013, the brand was worth £12 million. By the next month, Itsu groceries were selling 16 different products, including soups and noodles ; snacks ; sauces ; and drinks.
The Itsu products are sold throughout the UK in places like Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Waitrose, and Whole Foods Market. They can also be bought online.

Partnerships

In January 2014, Itsu became the Official Partner of the Volleyball England Beach Tour.

Alexander Litvinenko Poisoning

In October 2006, Russian nationality Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun arrived in London with polonium, a highly radioactive isotope. They had come to poison Alexander Litvinenko, a Russian dissident, employee and Kremlin critic. Upon investigation into Litvinenko’s poisoning, polonium was found in an Itsu branch in Piccadilly Circus, close to the Ritz.