8 minute read
Ninja Warrior | Unique and
FIGHT CLUB
Dean Sayer’s innovative Ninja Warrior leisure and dining concept is coming on leaps and bounds in Leicester.
Dean Sayer’s menu has got some kick, and we’re not just talking about its zingy Katsu Curry sauce – although the Booker-supplied condiment is a smash-hit with his adrenaline-pumped guests, especially when drizzled over chips. Diners at the Ninja Warrior UK Adventure Park in Leicester are treated to a unique dining and leisure experience and, judging by the howls of glee echoing across its cavernous interior when Catering@Booker visited, they are thrilled with the offer.
Inspired by ITV’s hit TV programme Ninja Warrior UK, the 34,000sq ft venue allows guests to kick, climb, balance, jump and swing across its awe-inspiring obstacle course,
THE LOWDOWN
NINJA WARRIOR ADVENTURE PARK, LEICESTER
Outlet: Ninja Warrior Adventure Park, Leicester Established: June 2021 Opening hours: 10am-9pm weekends/holidays -12pm-9pm during school term. Format: Leisure and catering venue Covers: 300 in the restaurant plus 64 in the four Party Rooms Owner: Dean Sayer Catering staff: Nine
before resting and refuelling at its large and equally electrifying restaurant zone.Situated at the heart of Leicester’s busy St George’s Retail Park, just a short drive from the mainline station and with ample parking, the venue has certainly made its mark since opening in June 2021 with Ninja Warrior easily attracting 1,800 people a day during the school holidays.
Heading it up is former investment banker Dean, who after years of gruelling commutes between his hometown of Rugby and his office in Canary Wharf, was inspired to try something totally different by a drizzly weekend on a visit to a local softplay. Dean explains: “One wet and cold day in 2017, my partner and I took our son to a local softplay and it blew me away. The softplay wasn’t even that good, or in a prime location, and yet it was packed.It hit me then and there that there could be a real opportunity in this type of business.Later that year, I went to the Franchise Exhibition at the Birmingham NEC where Ninja Leisure was exhibiting. It was the perfect fit for my vision."
By June 2021, his vison had been realised and the large sliding doors to Ninja Warrior Leicester opened for the first time. “The unit is a former Toys R Us store,” Dean explains. “It was exactly what I was looking for and so far, all my expectations have been exceeded."
Given the venue’s core audience of nine to 18-yearolds, peak trading times are evenings, weekends and the school holidays. Autumn and winter holidays are especially busy when colder, wetter weather conditions make its thrilling indoor offer even more attractive. While the thrill-packed Ninja obstacle course, complete with foam pits, slides and jumps certainly acts as a key draw, the tasty food and drink offer is an equally big hit.
Split over three levels overlooking the vast obstacle course, the open plan dining area has 59 tables seating up to five people each, set around an eye-catching neon-lit coffee bar.The restaurant’s cool, vibrant look is reflected in its menu which Dean says is all about “tasty, fun and sociable food”. He explains:“The food offer has been uniquely crafted to meet the quite specific needs of our unique audience.The food has to taste great, but it also has to be fun and fast to eat, as well as being fast to prepare".
Long waits are not an option: speed of service is key.The menu has a strong focus on sharing, as Dean explains: “Many of our top-selling items can be shared among groups of friends, such as our ‘Sharing Platters’ and our
pizzas.We do two types of sharing platter: an Oriental platter and an Indian one, both offering diners 12 pieces of food for just £5.The sharing platters come direct from Booker and our diners love them. They take just minutes for us to prepare in the kitchen and they are devoured just as quickly! Our menus don’t change in line with the seasons. That’s not what our diners want from us.The menu is focused on ‘treat’ style dishes, many of them shareable. It’s sociable food that people can enjoy together as part of a fun day out.”
Dean’s Booker CDM John Russell has been integral to the menu’s success.“John is such a great guy, and knows our market inside out," says Dean. "From day one, he’s been coming to us with new ideas. The Indian and Oriental Sharing Platters, for example, were his idea.”
But it’s the pizzas, now the venue’s top-selling item, where John’s influence has been most beneficial.“When we first opened I was buying frozen pizzas from elsewhere,” Dean explains. “They were expensive, they took 15 minutes to cook and the quality wasn’t that good.John suggested we introduce a new homemade pizza offer using Booker’s large naan breads, topped with Booker’s fresh tomato puree, bags of mixed grated cheese, plus other toppings such as pepperoni or BBQ chicken, also from Booker.
“They take less than a minute to prepare and need just five minutes in the oven. A Margherita costs our diners just £6.50 which is excellent value – an important consideration. The pizzas are huge, and we serve them cut into eight which makes them great for sharing. John also inspired us to add new sauces to our offer, such as the Katsu Curry sauce which has become one of the most popular additions to chips."
Open from 10am till 9pm during the holidays and on weekends, the venue caters for all three key meal times. The ‘Ninja Full English,’ which includes sausage, bacon, egg, hash brown, tomato, beans and a slice of toast all for just £6 is particularly popular with spectating parents on a weekend morning – as are bacon or sausage baps, which are offered with a hot drink for just £4.50.
“We cater just as much for the parents as we do for the
PARTY PEOPLE
NINJA WARRIOR
Parties are “big business” for Ninja Warrior Adventure Park Leicester, which tends to host 18 parties a day on weekends.
Party guests are offered a dedicated ‘Party Room’ which can seat up to 16 diners although can also take place out on the main restaurant floor.
The venue currently offers one ‘Party Package’ for £25 a head which includes an hour on the Ninja Park and a set menu of hot food including homemade pizza, chicken nuggets and chips plus unlimited squash and water.
children and young adults who are out on the course,” Dean adds.“It’s not uncommon for parents to come here with their kids, and treat themselves to a nice cooked breakfast plus a tea or coffee while their kids are making their way round the obstacles."
Coffee is served via Dean’s hybrid barista-style machine which is powered by ultra-convenient Lavazza capsules.“We also offer a wide range of confectionery items, such as chocolate singles, wrapped cakes and flapjacks, all of which come from Booker,” he adds.
Unsurprisingly, parties are big business for the Ninja Warrior. The venue’s split level restaurant zone offers four dedicated ‘party rooms’ on a mezzanine level with a capacity of 16 each, all of which look out over the main restaurant and adventure park below. Dean says: “It’s not uncommon for us to host up to 18 parties a day on weekends.”
Food and drink accounts for just under 30% of the venue’s turnover but Dean has plans to grow that share with a range of new initiatives to tempt guests to spend even more time on site. “Not every guest who visits the site purchases food or drinks while they’re here.” Dean explains. “Some will come, do their hour on the course and then leave. My plan is to introduce new attractions that will supplement the offer and encourage people to stay longer, which will drive food and drink sales."
Phase one of his plan has just been executed with the opening of a dance studio next to the restaurant’s top floor seating area.The new Raspberry Dance studio is already signing new guests up to a series of ballet and TikTok dance classes.Dean also has plans to install a new climbing wall across the venue’s large back wall and a games arcade.
“For now though, our major focus is on the key summer holiday season and after that, the October half-term, which is always especially busy for us,” concludes Dean. “Trading for our first year has exceeded all my expectations so it really is onwards and upwards from here.”
For guests on Dean’s unique Ninja course it’s more a case of onwards and downwards as they leap down its vast inflatable slide – hopefully prior to a full Ninja Breakfast.
DEAN'S SPECIAL BOARD
LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION
Finding the right location was key for Dean. The unit was perfect at 34,000sq ft, the retail park location meant it would have the right sort of footfall and the size of the general population was spot on at approximately 350,000 people.
ON TARGET
Understanding the specific needs of your target audience is key, says Dean. He did lots of research into the types of dishes guests would want by looking at other Ninja Warrior Franchise sites and continues to monitor feedback.
WORK SMART
Speed of service is important in a venue like this. Diners are having fun but often are really hungry and thirsty when they come off the course, so they want fast food that can be brought quickly.
