Itsu

itsu (いつ/itsu is Japanese for when) is a British chain of East Asian-inspired fast food shops and restaurants and a grocery company.^[3] The company offers franchises.^[4]

itsu

Company type	Private
Industry	Fast casual restaurant
Founded	1997
Founder	Julian Metcalfe
Headquarters	London, England, UK
Number of locations	77[1]
Key people	Clive Schlee
Products	Food
Number of employees	852 (2020)[2]
Website	www.itsu.com

History

The chain was founded by Julian Metcalfe, co-founder of sandwich chain Pret a Manger, in partnership with Clive Schlee.^[5]

In 2006, following the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko, traces of the deadly isotope Polonium-210 were found at the Piccadilly branch of Itsu in London, where Litvinenko had dined on the day he was poisoned.^[6][7]

Outlets and expansion

itsu, Commercial Street, Leeds

The first itsu restaurant opened in Chelsea, London in 1997. In September 2013, itsu opened its first restaurant outside London, in Oxford.^[8]

In January 2016, itsu opened its first Northern England restaurant, in Spinningfields, central Manchester.^[9] The chain later opened a branch in Leeds.

As of 2022^[update] itsu had 76 restaurants in England, including 54 in London (44 in February 2023), and one in Brussels Airport, Belgium.^[10]

In June 2018, the company opened a branch in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, US.^[11] In February 2023 itsu's Web site listed Brussels and Paris as the only non-UK locations; the US Web page was dead.

itsu [grocery]

In March 2012, Metcalfe's Food Company, run by Robert Jakobi, launched the itsu brand into retail^[12] under the name itsu [grocery].

Partnerships

In January 2014, itsu became the official partner of the Volleyball England Beach Tour,^[13] but was not listed on the UKBT Web site as of 2021.^[14]