EG Group-owned fast-food brand Leon announces plans for first drive-thru restaurant

EG Group-owned fast-food brand Leon has unveiled nationwide expansion plans including news of its first drive-thru concept.

The new drive-thru restaurant is set to open this Autumn in West Yorkshire, marking the first new opening for the brand since its sale to the EG Group in April. It will be the first of many planned drive-thru openings and the start of a focused and accelerated UK expansion, with additional locations already identified.

The location for the first drive-thru is on the A650 Wakefield Road, close to the M62 and M621 junctions, but a spokesperson confirmed it will not be on a forecourt.

However, Mohsin and Zuber Issa co-founders and co-CEOs, EG Group, stressed that their investment in Leon, together with their unparalleled operational experience of drive-thrus and access to high-quality roadside locations through their forecourts, will create ”new opportunities for the company and a strong platform to deliver significant growth”.

The new drive-thru format will feature a 2,000 sq ft 50-plus-cover restaurant and will be the first of its kind for the Leon brand, and the fourth Leon restaurant to open in West Yorkshire.

Continuing with its mission to bring Naturally Fast Food to as many people as possible, Leon hopes expansion into drive-thru will make it easier for even more people to eat well and therefore live well, especially if they’re on the move.

The company says sustainability will be at the forefront of both the build and finished restaurant. The eco-friendly restaurant will be supplied with power from a 100% renewable energy source. It will have solar panels on the roof which will contribute to further reducing energy consumption and, post-launch, it is planning to install a wind turbine that will generate even more sustainable power. There will also be electric vehicle charging and bike racks to encourage cyclists and ‘cycle-thru’ guests.

Product innovations and exclusive menu developments will also be unveiled at the West Yorkshire site with a focus on family eating and an expanded children’s menu. Guests willalso find all the usual Leon favourites such as ‘carbon neutral’ burgers, gluten-free chicken nuggets, grilled wraps, breakfast and lunchtime meal deals and the recently launched organic coffee subscription.

 It will be a ‘digital-first’ restaurant to enable a streamlined service, with kiosks for digital ordering and payments which will include shopper-recognition technology to recognise kiosk orders that are placed by existing customers already signed up to the Leon smart order online-ordering platform.

Nick Ayerst, managing director, Leon, said: “This is a significant milestone for Leon. We’ve been discussing the first Leon drive-thru with EG Group for five years now, and we’re excited to open in West Yorkshire later this year. We have three other Leons in the surrounding area and we’ve received such a warm welcome from locals, who tell us they love our naturally fast food. We receive lots of emails and tweets every week asking us to open even more restaurants in the north, and we hope this opening signifies that there are many more to come.”

Mohsin and Zuber Issa said: “This is the first of many new, strategic openings for the Leon brand under EG ownership. Opening a Leon drive-thru concept is a landmark moment for the brand, creating a fantastic opportunity to bring Leon’s naturally fast food to even more people.

Our investment in Leon, together with our unparalleled operational experience of drive-thrus and access to high-quality roadside locations through our forecourts, creates new opportunities for the company and a strong platform to deliver significant growth.”