Up next in 10
Robert De Niro has revealed why his Nobu Hospitality is investing in Manchester with its first UK location outside of London.
Speaking to City AM’s UK Editor, Jon Robinson, the Hollywood actor explains why he and his fellow co-founders - Meir Teper and celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa - chose the city as well as whether they would look elsewhere in the UK.
They also reveal that they are open to launching a new site in London in the future while De Niro addresses whether President Donald Trump is a barrier to his company investing further in the US.
Get more of City AM 👇
🌐 http://www.cityam.com
X(formerly Twitter): http://twitter.com/CityAM
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cityam
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/city_am
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/cityam
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
All right. Well, gentlemen, thank you
0:01
very much for talking to us today. I
0:03
know that Trevor, this is not your first
0:05
time in Manchester, but I think it is
0:07
for the rest of you. What's your first
0:09
impressions apart from it being cold and
0:11
wet?
0:12
Well, I haven't really seen anything. I
0:14
was in the car from the airport here. I
0:16
I'd like to see Manchester. Um I mean,
0:19
well, not this time, but uh
0:21
Is there anything on your list that you
0:23
particularly want to see? Manchester
0:24
United.
0:25
I was saying I I'm sorry. I just dropped
0:26
my glass. I I I wish that I had done a
0:29
little research or asked, you know, some
0:32
basic things to know about Manchester.
0:34
Um, that's all.
0:36
So, I suppose the pitch for this project
0:39
wasn't Manchester as a city to you. It
0:41
was there were other factors that came
0:43
into it. What convinced you all to get
0:46
involved in this project?
0:48
Well, what I heard from everybody is
0:49
that it's a good place to do something.
0:52
It's a ambitious project but really the
0:56
the city itself is really up and coming
0:59
moving and very doing very well and so
1:02
it would be a uh a place to do it. So
1:05
and I spoke to Fred Don we we uh
1:09
facetimed each other and and these guys
1:12
said it's good good place that we should
1:15
and that was it.
1:16
What about you Trevor? Where did you
1:18
what convinced you? I mean, we, you
1:21
know, we met with uh with Fred and and
1:25
uh and Simon and it was really their
1:28
vision and we were very intrigued with
1:31
what they're doing in in Manchester. You
1:34
know, everything they're doing,
1:36
especially Fred, is is for the
1:37
betterment of of the city. And you know,
1:41
I I I know Manchester because in a way
1:44
it's home hometown to me. you know, I
1:47
was born not far away and uh and I've
1:50
seen the development. I've seen the the
1:52
the passion coming from the the the sh
1:55
you know, the shareholders and so forth
1:57
and I said, "Look, I think it's the
1:59
right time now." I mean, we we've been
2:01
looking at Manchester for a number of
2:03
years and and I think now is a good
2:05
time.
2:05
You say it's the right time. Of course,
2:06
you first expanded into the UK in 1997
2:10
down in London. Why has it taken so long
2:13
for you to expand to another UK city?
2:16
Usually um people investors approached
2:20
us to do projects and um
2:25
Trevor has been talking to people here
2:27
in Manchester for quite a few years and
2:31
um um until this deal came along and uh
2:36
um Trevor is from this was born here so
2:40
he knows the area very well. they told
2:42
us how great uh it could be here and how
2:47
Manchester is developing and it's the
2:50
right time to come here. So, so we did
2:54
I suppose you might say one project at a
2:56
time, but are you open to the idea of
2:58
opening another Nou elsewhere in the UK?
3:02
Well, you never know. It depends on
3:04
Yeah. I mean Yeah. I think I think
3:08
naturally
3:09
we're in the
3:12
you know I'm not saying it's the luxury
3:13
hotel business but naturally we have to
3:15
make sure that any destination that we
3:18
go into that the the locals will embrace
3:21
the concept and so forth and I think
3:25
there is potential in maybe one or two
3:28
other cities in the UK but slowly slowly
3:31
we'll we'll see what happens
3:32
and you can hear the trains going above
3:37
Manchester historically is an industrial
3:39
city. You know, you're going to be
3:41
building through or on top of Victorian
3:44
railway arches. Is the project going to
3:46
have a distinct Manchester flavor that
3:49
sets it apart from the two locations in
3:51
London? AB:
3:52
Absolutely. I think because we
3:54
everything we do is bespoke and brings
3:56
in the local elements, right, Matt? But
3:59
I I I think that when we actually opened
4:02
London, I we no and I we went to London
4:07
and there was hardly any Japanese food
4:11
around. There were maybe one traditional
4:14
Japanese restaurant and Nou when he we
4:18
opened London changed the the the
4:22
scene of
4:25
especially Japanese
4:28
food in London. And I think we're going
4:31
to do the same thing here in Manchester.
4:33
Mhm.
4:34
Um, from what I know, I haven't been
4:37
here a lot, but from what I know, there
4:39
there are not too many Japanese
4:42
restaurants here.
4:44
Chef Noi, what's your perception of the
4:46
culinary scene in Manchester?
4:49
Well, like above, you know, I don't know
4:52
much, but I not worry about Manchester
4:54
because we have so two no restaurant on
4:58
the city and we have the teams and uh
5:02
but a little bit far away, you know, no
5:04
competitions the city and here but uh
5:07
this is maybe top number three city,
5:10
right? Biggest London and
5:13
we like to say it's the second biggest.
5:15
Yes.
5:15
Yeah. Bigger than Birmingham. That's the
5:17
sore point. So that's why you know I
5:19
like to so this series is I feel you
5:23
know very famous soccer teams people
5:26
know the Manchester's name so now here
5:29
you know and uh I like to do the same
5:32
way to like no Londons and u yeah just
5:36
looking for make success and so means so
5:39
we start the business
5:41
uh we not playing the games just like
5:44
try our best and uh I come and bring the
5:49
our chefs and the training, you know,
5:52
like we did uh used to as well the same
5:56
same way we do make the new locations
6:00
uh new restaurants and uh also of course
6:04
use local uh product as much possible
6:08
because we have to support local too.
6:11
Yeah.
6:11
Yeah.
6:11
Absolutely. Of course, we're here to
6:13
mark the the start of the process, the
6:15
construction process for NO Manchester.
6:17
You've got two in London already. I've
6:20
asked about whether you're open to
6:22
launching new sites across the UK, but
6:24
what about London itself? How are they
6:26
are you pleased with how those sites
6:27
have been performing? It's been
6:29
difficult the hospitality industry in
6:31
recent years and would you look to
6:33
expand further in the capital in the
6:35
future? Well, so we don't it's like we
6:38
don't think about much you know always
6:40
we open the city we try the best
6:42
so it's
6:46
some some people know the new recipe
6:49
let's be the depend country or depend
6:51
city it's a different no even the Japan
6:54
New York Australia even Cape Town all
6:57
the same recipe so means that's why the
7:02
you know lot of customers traveling all
7:04
over the world then any the novel has
7:07
any city so they stop by. So
7:11
looking back to when you co-founded the
7:14
company can you believe that you're here
7:17
now at this point and having seen this
7:20
growth?
7:20
No. Did you know to begin with?
7:22
Well, you I I I don't see how anybody
7:26
when they start something you started I
7:29
started asking Noble if he'd want to
7:31
open a restaurant in New York when I
7:32
went to Massachusetts in LA. Never
7:36
imagining what what it would be. Never
7:39
ever. I was just wanting to open a
7:41
restaurant in New York. I knew it would
7:42
work so well in New York and maybe here
7:45
because I had been here and it reminded
7:47
me of New York. to Japanese restaurants.
7:49
I had been at just two or if if three at
7:53
at the most and they had the same feel.
7:55
They were not they were nice, they were
7:57
good, but they were not what he was
7:58
doing. So, um but New York definitely.
8:02
So, that's
8:03
we've heard a lot today about Manchester
8:04
being attractive to invest in as
8:06
international investors. Is that your
8:09
perception from outside of the UK?
8:11
Not mine. I don't know that, but these
8:13
guys know he you know.
8:14
Yeah. I mean that that's I mean one of
8:17
the reasons when we we were intrigued
8:19
with what Fred was doing is you know we
8:22
have restaurants and hotels around the
8:24
world and we and there's a lot of expats
8:27
that live internationally naturally and
8:30
and they are our customers and we knew
8:33
that the that some of the expats who
8:36
would probably come back from the Middle
8:38
East or other places are going to be
8:40
buying a Nou here. uh and they because
8:44
they know that they know the brand and
8:46
so forth and uh and I think you know the
8:50
customer if the customer feels at home
8:52
with Nou I don't think there is a
8:55
problem when it comes down to price
8:56
point in terms of selling the residences
8:59
so we you know I think we comfortable
9:02
with that
9:03
yeah I think when you ask you about the
9:05
expansion in in London um we have two
9:10
restaurants and one hotel which is doing
9:13
very well, especially if the hotel is
9:15
really uh doing well. Uh and if we have
9:19
to to think about expansion,
9:22
maybe we can expand like we're doing in
9:24
in Manchester is doing residential in
9:28
London.
9:29
That is not a not not going to compete
9:33
with the uh what we have already. So,
9:36
you know, cuz you have to think about
9:38
how much how much can you push, how much
9:41
can you uh
9:44
get milk out out of the cow, you know?
9:46
Yeah.
9:48
And at the moment for you three, is it
9:51
more attractive to invest
9:52
internationally in places like the UK
9:55
than maybe in the US because of the
9:57
current administration?
10:01
I don't I
10:05
at this point I don't see that part of
10:08
it being an a problem. Uh I don't
10:13
no I think I think a lot of problems but
10:16
that's not one that would make
10:18
yeah I think because we you know we are
10:20
now growing in the US and we're opening
10:22
for example the plaza at New York which
10:25
is going to be a great hotel
10:27
and we're also growing the residences in
10:30
the US and so forth and and there's
10:32
there's still a very strong demand for
10:37
for anobu in in different cities.
10:40
Yeah. So we don't see it being any I
10:43
don't think a lot of politics affect Nou
10:46
you know it's like when when when when
10:48
we had co we came out of co unscathed
10:52
really in the sense of we ke bounced
10:54
back very quickly and there's always
10:57
customers that want to go to no you know
11:00
yeah for sure um I can't end this
11:03
interview Robert without asking a very
11:05
cheeky question if that's okay if you
11:07
had to pick a film of yours that was
11:10
maybe more of a hidden gem somebody
11:12
hasn't seen. What would it be would you
11:16
recommend for them to watch?
11:18
Well, one that I I I
11:21
was I enjoyed working on was with a a
11:26
British director named Kirk Jones called
11:28
Everybody's Fine. It was b it was taken
11:31
off an Italian movie called Tutto Stano
11:34
Benet.
11:36
But I don't I don't know who saw the
11:38
movie, but I had a good time with Kirk
11:40
doing it, and it was more than a good
11:41
time. It just was a special film for me.
11:44
Fantastic. Gentlemen, thank you very
11:46
much for your time.
11:47
Thank you.
11:47
Thank you. Thank you.
11:53
[Music]
#Celebrities & Entertainment News
#Food Service
#Restaurants