Chopstix and Haven Holidays team up for first ‘eat-in’ restaurant

Pan-Asian quick-service restaurant brand Chopstix and its franchise partner Haven Holidays have opened their first-ever ‘eat-in’ restaurant together.

Located at Haven’s Thornwick Bay site in East Yorkshire, the four-walled concept follows on from successful modular Chopstix units at the Presthaven, Haggerston Castle, and Craig Tara holiday parks.

Chopstix and Haven said the opening of a traditional seated restaurant concept is an important step for the partnership, with both brands exploring future rollouts across the Haven estate. 

As with previous sites, full management of the Thornwick Bay restaurant will be overseen by Haven, with all team members undergoing a full induction.

Expansion through franchise partnerships has been a decisive factor in Chopstix’s growth, which has secured a number of high-profile agreements with food and beverage operators over the last two years. The company is aiming to become the largest Asian-inspired quick-service restaurant in Europe, with a long-term ambition of 300 sites by 2027.

Sam Elia, co-founder and director at Chopstix, said: “We’re thrilled to be opening a traditional Chopstix site with seating at Haven’s Thornwick Bay park, the first of in this format to open with the franchisee. The fact Haven is confident in adding this traditional format site to its current portfolio of modular units demonstrates the significant appetite for Chopstix noodles among Haven holiday guests. 

“The three modular restaurants we’ve opened with Haven so far have all performed exceptionally well, so I have no doubt the franchisee will have considerable success with this four-walled unit given the even wider range of eating occasions this format offers consumers.” 

Peter Blake, chief operating officer at Haven, added: “We’re excited to launch Chopstix in Thornwick Bay and to see how the brand performs in this traditional four-walled format, a first for Haven. The feedback from customers at our Presthaven, Haggerston Castle, and Craig Tara sites has been overwhelmingly positive, with guests viewing Chopstix as a welcome addition to our broader food and drink offer. The performance of the initial three Chopstix sites has given us impetus to explore further openings with the brand beyond Thornwick Bay.”

Earlier this year, Haven became the UK’s only holiday park operator to enter a commercial partnership with JD Wetherspoon, opening a pub at North Yorkshire’s Primrose Valley park.