Jones the Grocer

About Jones the Grocer

Dubai-based Jones the Grocer is a multi-award winning cafe, bakery, patisserie, deli, gourmet grocery and cheese monger with circa 40 multi-format company owned and franchised stores across the UAE, UK, Singapore, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and India which employs over 600 people.

The hybrid concept, founded in Australia in 1996, first mooted a UK launch in 2021, which it said would be a flagship for European expansion.

In December 2022, TRG Concessions secures UK debut for Jones the Grocer with a double Heathrow airport opening. The company said at the time of the launch that it was looking to expand further here through franchising.

In July 2024, chief executive Yunib Siddiqui told Propel he is planning at least 22 sites here, targeting university towns and high streets as well as travel hubs. “When we did our overseas strategy, we included about 22 stores in the UK across different formats, including grab and go and full dining options,” he said. “It is a very different offer which we believe can stand on its own against any multi-site brand. We did have a deal for four London locations pre-covid, but that fell through, and it’s not been revived as the interested party decided not to go into food and beverage.

“So, we’ve been looking at the UK for at least four years. Our initial target is to look at London and the university towns such as Cambridge, Oxford, Manchester, Birmingham, Cheltenham and Bristol - those are the main target towns for us. We just need to find the right operator with the capacity to roll out in these territories. We’ve had lots of enquiries from individuals who want to open one store or two stores, but what we’re really looking for is the right person and right operator to take on an area.”

In August 2026, TRG Concessions said it is planning to open a second UK Jones the Grocer site in London’s Waterloo. It is lining up an opening in Waterloo Train Station, taking on a site on the transport hub’s balcony that previously housed Natural Kitchen.

Why franchise with Jones the Grocer

• ✓Multiple store formats offer development opportunities across golf clubs, hotel lobbies, travel, transport and commercial hubs, community centres and shopping malls. The travel retail sector has been a specific growth thrust with successful stores operating in Dubai Airport (UAE), Bangalore International Airport (India) and Doha HIA Airport (Qatar), Heathrow Airport (London), Changi Airport (Singapore) and Midfield Terminal (Abu Dhabi). While an exclusive agreement is in place for UK airports, Jones the Grocer is actively seeking opportunities to grow across the UK, offering various store models.
• ✓Flagship stores are 300-plus sqm. They include bakery, patisserie, steak grill, woodfire oven, kitchen, 500+ SKUs, coffee theatre, cheese room, wine retail/wine bar, charcuterie and deli, grab and go fridge and freezer, sandwich, pastry, salads and soups display. Entry to market is usually with a Flagship store, followed by other store types. Medium stores are 200 sqm and can potentially include a steak grill and woodfire oven, and has a kitchen, 400-500 SKUs, compact coffee theatre, compact cheese room, wine retail/wine bar, compact charcuterie and deli, grab and go fridge and freezer, sandwich, pastry, salads and soups display.
• ✓Express stores are 50-100 sqm and includes prep kitchen, limited impulse retail, limited coffee theatre, grab and go fridge, limited grab and go freezer, sandwich, pastry, salads and soups display. Jones Social stores are 150 sqm-plus with a coal or wood fired oven, kitchen with standard cooking line, cheese and wine bar and all-day tapas-style sharing menu.
• ✓A Jones the Grocer store generates diverse revenues across dining, cheese and wine retail, food retail, cooking classes, catering, grab and go and home delivery. They also organise multiple events from pasta making masterclasses and online gingerbread house workshops to cheese and wine nights, which are a great revenue generator for our franchisees.
• ✓Siddiqui said: “We are very well tooled up for franchising, and that’s where the focus will be. We’ve got plenty of leads – we’re just sifting through and waiting for the right opportunity, right partner, right capitalisation and right operating structure.”