THE ground-breaking chef behind two Aberdeen city centre restaurants has revealed new plans to launch a chain of bars and bakeries.
Nico Simeone, founder of Six by Nico, has a secured a £11.5million funding facility with ThinCats, a challenger bank, to support the further growth of the business – with the Granite City firmly in his plans.
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The company’s financial results have just been published and they show a turnover of £30.8million in the 12 months to June 2022 and an operating profit of £4.4million.
Four further Six By Nico restaurants are in the pipeline, according to The Times, but next up is a bakery, which is scheduled to launch in Scotland before the end of March.
The idea for that came from coronavirus lockdown periods and the popularity of the desserts being offered via the Six by Nico home delivery service.
Parent company Sixco also has plans for standalone bars in the UK and is in talks about international sites, with Dubai one option that is being assessed.
New openings during the past 18 months include a restaurant at 367 Union Street, Aberdeen.
Graeme Sheils, a director of the restaurant chain’s parent company, Sixco, said: “It’s been fantastic to see how Aberdeen has embraced the Six by Nico concept.
“We’ve built up a strong local following since launching in the city last April and given the success of the restaurant we’re keen to further develop our offerings in the city.”
The chain is poised to open a second Aberdeen eatery in the former Jack Wills men’s clothing shop in The Academy shopping centre on Belmont Street .
There has been speculation the second outlet could be its Chateau-X steakhouse brand – although this has not been confirmed.
Mr Sheils commented: “We’re currently working on obtaining the relevant consents and hope to begin trading another Sixco brand in Aberdeen in 2023.”
Simeone said that Covid was a “huge challenge” but the company had “bounced back very strongly”.
He said: “We’re really confident that, despite the economic headwinds, our high-value and high-experience restaurants will continue to excite our customers into the new year and beyond.”
