inspired restaurant itsu, it s opened across the uk, it has a small footprint in europe. its new york restaurant closed during covid. so, how has the current state of the world s cities impacted on his plans for global expansion? julian metcalfe, it s great to have you on the show. let s start with this, simply put, how did covid and the closing of offices hit your business? it hit itsu much the same way it hit a great many businesses, particularly hospitality. well, infact, everybody. it s like other hospitality businesses in the sense that as the cities slowly fill up, itsu is thriving. we were lucky that a great many itsus were feeding people outside the great cities and in many of the big towns, and they remained very busy as they opened up. it almost seems like a decade ago, 2020, february, doesn t it? we ve moved on.
as predicted, harry styles is one of the night s big winners. you are watching bbc news. now it s time for talking business. hello, everybody. a very warm welcome to talking business weekly with me, aaron heslehurst. let s go take a look at what s on the show. the cities that went to sleep for the pandemic are waking up, but how much are the world s great metropolises bouncing back and can they ever get back to where they were? with hybrid and remote working still in place in much of the world, what is the impact on our great cities, their restaurants, economies and property prices? i m going to be discussing all of that with these two. there they are. dr megan walters, global head of research at allianz real estate, and julian metcalfe, the big boss of the asian food chain itsu. plus, i sit down with yuriko koike, the governor of tokyo to get her view on how one of the world s great capitals is faring after
famously very demanding, so after two years of paying full rent, we gave up the keys tragically, sadly but we will go back into north america when the time is right. but no, covid destroyed that. just briefly, when will that time be right, do you think? i think next probably at the end of next year. once we have a break from opening in other european countries, we will go back into america. america, the whole of america is in dire need of nutritious, affordable food at the right price. as we all know, anybody who has travelled in america knows it is very much reliant on fried, fast food and that on that point, julian metcalfe, a real pleasure having you on the show. good luck with everything and i will
so after two years of paying for rent, we gave up the keys tragically, sadly but we will go back into north america when the time is right. but no, covid destroyed that. just briefly, when will that time be right do you think? i think next, probably at the end of next year. 0nce i think next, probably at the end of next year. once we have a break from opening in other european countries, we will go back into america. america, the whole of america is in dire need of nutritious, affordable food at the right price. as we all know, anybody who has travelled in america knows it is very much reliant on fried, fast food and that needs to change, but that is much easier said than done. fin needs to change, but that is much easier said than done. easier said than done. on that oint, easier said than done. on that point. julian easier said than done. on that point, julian metcalfe, - easier said than done. on that point, julian metcalfe, a - easier said than done. on that point, julian metca
and for many people, operating their business lives differently but the cities are definitely filling up. julian, before covid you had big global expansion plans. how did you have to change those? well, covid put a stop on everything for a great many of us but now we are opening a second and third itsu in paris, france. we re opening, hopefully about to start building in brussels, belgium, a second itsu. and we are talking of planning to open in germany and other countries in europe, so we are still going well. we are very fortunate. what about north america? north america was a classic. situation in the sense we had a landlord there who would not let us off any rent for two years. new york landlords are famously very demanding,