THE fifth Franklins Deli to open in less than a year will be a new departure from the current model, revealed founder Adam Franklin.

He opened his first outlet in Liverpool’s St Paul’s Square last December, and has added another in the city’s FACT complex and two in Manchester, as well as a hospitality function at Preston North End Football Club.

Now, Liverpool’s Metquarter will be the latest location in the chain’s expansion, with a mid to late November opening planned.

And he believes Liverpool has the capacity for one, possibly two, more Franklins, with a franchising deal among the next options.

He told LDP Business: “We could get to 10 company-owned stores and there might be an opportunity for like- minded people to run a store.”

All Franklins outlets so far are based within business districts, but the Metquarter site will be the first in a retail/leisure location.

Mr Franklin said it will be different to the model that he has developed.

“Our Metquarter menu will be very different because the other delis we have are in commercial districts. The Metquarter is an extension of Franklins into a sit-down restaurant. Probably not much take away, more ladies who lunch.

“The Metquarter is going to be lots of salads and really nice sandwiches.”

He will undertake a fact-finding mission in Florida and Philadelphia to research the menu: “We will bring ideas back from the United States for the Metquarter, aimed more at the healthy side of US food.

“Every popular sandwich seems to have come out of the States.”

He used New York delis as the template for the original opening, and says the four current Franklins perfectly embody that concept.

“Dining here is very egalitarian. We will have builders sat alongside bankers and they will use us more than once a day.

“They will come for breakfasts and back for lunch, and you get a lot of name recognition from our staff. ‘Morning Vinny, morning Dan’. That’s what we are all about, like a gnarly old New York Deli.”

The business, which now employs almost 100 staff, is driven by Mr Franklin and four external shareholders – a commercial property lawyer and three accountants – who have so far invested £450,000 in the venture, with no debt on its books.

Mr Franklin said: “I went to the banks and it was just a non-starter.

“They included us in the restaurants and bar sector, and the tap had been turned off.”

He believes the chain is a business of its time, born of the recession: “Our model was designed for a market that was tight already. We’re a bit of a baby of the recession.

“People will go out for a £5 or a £7 lunch, rather than going out of a night to a restaurant.”

But he says their model is proving its worth in the highly competitive food sector.

“We still consider ourselves a scrappy insurgency going up against the big businesses, and winning where we can.”