itsu (''いつ/itsu'' is

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

for ''when'') is a British chain of

East Asian East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

-inspired fast food shops and restaurants and a grocery company.Moules, Jonathan
"itsu founder nurtures a new generation"
, ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'', London, 21 January 2014. Retrieved on 21 January 2014. The company offers

franchises Franchise may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Media franchise, a collection of related creative works, such as films, video games, books, etc., particularly in North American usage * "Franchise" (short story), a 1955 short story ...

History

The chain was founded by

Julian Metcalfe Julian Edward Metcalfe (born 14 December 1959) is a British entrepreneur and founder of food retailers Itsu and Metcalfe's Food Company. Early life Metcalfe's mother was Alexa, the widow of Alexander Korda; his paternal grandfather was Edward ...

, co-founder of sandwich chain

Pret a Manger Pret a Manger (; French for "ready to eat") is a British multinational sandwich shop chain founded in London, England, in 1983. It is popularly referred to simply as Pret. As of January 2025, Pret had over 700 locations across 19 countries and ...

, in partnership with Clive Schlee. In 2006, following the

poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko Alexander Litvinenko was an officer of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) and its predecessor, the KGB, until he left the service and fled the country in late 2000. In 1998, Litvinenko and several other Russian intelligence officers sa ...

, traces of the deadly isotope

Polonium-210 Polonium-210 (210Po, Po-210, historically radium F) is an isotope of polonium. It undergoes alpha decay to stable 206Pb with a half-life of 138.376 days (about months), the longest half-life of all naturally occurring polonium isotopes (210– ...

were found at the

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, England, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road (England), A4 road that connects central London to ...

branch of Itsu in London, where Litvinenko had dined on the day he was poisoned.

Outlets and expansion

The first itsu restaurant opened in

Chelsea, London Chelsea is an area in West London, England, due south-west of Kilometre zero#Great Britain, Charing Cross by approximately . It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the SW postcode area, south-western p ...

in 1997. In September 2013, itsu opened its first restaurant outside London, in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. In January 2016, itsu opened its first

Northern England Northern England, or the North of England, refers to the northern part of England and mainly corresponds to the Historic counties of England, historic counties of Cheshire, Cumberland, County Durham, Durham, Lancashire, Northumberland, Westmo ...

restaurant, in

Spinningfields Spinningfields is an area of Manchester in Greater Manchester, England. It developed in the 2000s between Deansgate and the River Irwell by Allied London Properties. The £1.5 billion project consists of 20 buildings, totalling approximately of ...

, central

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

. The chain later opened a branch in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

. itsu had 76 restaurants in England, including 54 in London (44 in February 2023), and one in

Brussels Airport Brussels Airport is the main international airport of Belgium. It is located in the municipality of Zaventem in Flemish Brabant, northeast of Brussels. Also informally known as Brussels-National Airport or Brussels-Zaventem Airport, Brussels ...

, Belgium. In June 2018, the company opened a branch in

Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan, serving as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Building, the ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, US. In February 2023 itsu's Web site listed Brussels and Paris as the only non-UK locations; th
US Web page
was dead.

itsu rocery/h1>
In March 2012,
Metcalfe's Food Company Metcalfe's Food Company was a privately owned food business founded in 2009 by Julian Metcalfe, the founder of the sandwich chain, Pret A Manger, and Robert Jakobi. Metcalfe's Food Company sold products under two brands Metcalfes Skinny a ...
, run by
Robert Jakobi Robert Jakobi (born April 7, 1985) is a Food entrepreneur. He is the former Managing Director and Co Owner of Metcalfe's Food Company, which was founded by Julian Metcalfe in 2009. Early life and education Robert Jakobi grew up in London and the ...
, launched the itsu brand into retailVince Bamford
"itsu to target retailers with new Asian snacks"
The Grocer, June 2011 under the name itsu rocery

Partnerships

In January 2014, itsu became the official partner of the

Volleyball England Volleyball England is the Sports governing body, national governing body for indoor volleyball, sitting volleyball and beach volleyball in England. It selects the national teams and coordinates several national competitions, including the Natio ...

Beach Tour, but was not listed on the UKBT Web site as of 2021.

References

External links

Official website

itsu Grocery website
{{Food chains in the United Kingdom, state=expanded Restaurants in London Asian restaurants in the United Kingdom Restaurants established in 1997