When James Joyce declared his love for Dublin, he had not only fallen for the nestled beauty of the city, but its ability to make every visitor feel at home.
Later this year, Leon will open its first Irish restaurant right at the heart of Dublin, and begin its own love affair with the Emerald Isle.
Thanks to a new franchise partnership with a team of entrepreneurs and hospitality experts from Cibus Concepts Ltd, Dubliners will get the chance to enjoy the warmth and humour of a Leon welcome, alongside a commitment to honest, natural food.
The Dublin restaurant will offer Leon classics including Moroccan Meatballs and The Fish Finger Wrap.
The team running Leon Dublin and Ireland will be led by Stuart Fitzgerald, alongside his partner Brian McIntyre. They have considerable expertise in hospitality and casual dining. And the group have an ambitious plan to roll out 20 restaurants across Irish cities by 2023.
Fitzgerald said, 'The Leon offering is completely different from anything available in Ireland and Irish people are going to love it. In Ireland we're famous for enjoying a bit of fun and having the craic, but even the Irish haven't yet managed to make fast food fun.
'Pretty soon people in Ireland are going to be able to enjoy healthy, fresh and flavourful fast food in an environment where the focus is on excellent food, speed of service, a big warm welcome… And fun. We're launching in Dublin later this year and can't wait to get cracking.'
Leon was founded back in 2004 by John Vincent and Henry Dimbleby along with renowned chef Allegra McEvedy, to provide fast food that tastes good, does you good and that is kind to the planet.
Ever since, it has been expanding across the UK and Europe with a mission to reach every major city in the world including Amsterdam and Oslo.
John Vincent, Leon’s CEO, said, ‘It has for many years, been an ambition of ours to be in Ireland - but we needed to wait until we found Irish partners who can give LEON the love and focus it deserves. Stuart and his team are ‘LEON’ people. They are positive, courageous and like a good time.’