The brother-and-sister duo behind north London Nigerian tapas spot Chuku’s have revealed ambitious plans to spin the concept out on a national scale with half a million pounds in funding.

Emeka (left in picture) and Ifeyinwa Frederick launched Chuku’s – billed as ‘London’s first Nigerian tapas restaurant’ – in Seven Sisters in 2020, after several years experimenting with pop-ups. The restaurant came to wider attention last year when it was selected for an £8,000 grant from Beyoncé’s BeyGood Foundation.

Ifeyinwa said of the project: “It’s not just about the food – we want to be a voice for African culture.”

Having survived the pandemic and “honed their financial acumen“, the siblings are now looking to open a second, more visible venue in central London, raising funds through a combination of debt and angel investors.

Emeka said: “We’re ready to take that next step. While we can’t think about site number three until after that, the ambition is to be a nationwide brand. We think there are still a few more opportunities in London, and beyond that, we’re looking at growing into other cities such as Brighton and Manchester. One of the reasons we’ve decided not to go down the crowdfunding route this time around is we want to tap into the nous of those investors who have that experience of growing a business.”

Ifeyinwa added: “We make all our sauces in-house, so we’d also love to make that step into retail.”