. this article has multiple issues . please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . september 2015 learn how and when to remove this template message a major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject . it may require cleanup to comply with wikipedia s content policies particularly neutral point of view . please discuss further on the talk page . september 2015 learn how and when to remove this template message this article contains content that is written like an advertisement . please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view . september 2015 learn how and when to remove this template message learn how and when to remove this template message itsu type private limited founded 1997 headquarters london england number of locations 60 january 2016 1 key people julian metcalfe and clive schlee co founders robert jakobi managing director metcalfe s food company products food website http www.itsu.com http www.itsugrocery.com itsu is a british chain of asian inspired fast food shops and restaurants and a grocery company . 2 the chain was founded by julian metcalfe co founder of sandwich chain pret a manger and founder of metcalfe s food company in partnership with clive schlee . 3 the first itsu store opened in chelsea london in 1997 . by october 2015 the number of shops in notting hill and chelsea had grown to 50 with two restaurants in the area . 4 itsu has reported financial data as follows the chain serves over nine million customers per year customers spend around 55 million in itsu shops and restaurants 4 consecutive yearly sales increases of 30 % 5 itsu received international coverage in november 2006 when alexander litvinenko was poisoned in one of their restaurants . the russian fsb secret service agent was poisoned with the radioactive element polonium before eating at itsu s piccadilly branch . citation needed contents 1 outlets & expansion 2 us launch 3 itsu grocery 4 partnerships 5 see also 6 references 7 external links outlets & expansion edit in april 2013 itsu announced plans to open 20 more stores in london over the next three years . 5 by september 2013 itsu opened its first shop outside london in oxford . 6 in july 2014 itsu launched its 50th store in richmond london . 7 it announced intentions to open 30 more stores in the next few years . 8 in january 2016 itsu expanded into northern england choosing spinningfields in central manchester as the site for its first northern store . 9 the chain later opened a branch in leeds . us launch edit in august 2014 julian metcalfe confirmed his plans to launch itsu restaurants and grocery stores in new york by early 2016 . 8 itsu grocery edit in march 2012 metcalfe s food company run by robert jakobi launched the itsu brand into retail 10 under the name itsu grocery . as of september 2013 the brand was worth 12 million . 3 by the next month itsu groceries were selling 16 different products including soups and noodles including miso soup cups and noodle pots ; snacks including chocolate covered edamame and rice cakes ; sauces including hoisin and teriyaki variants ; and drinks . 11 the itsu grocery products are sold throughout the uk in places like sainsbury s tesco waitrose and whole foods market . they can also be bought online . 12 partnerships edit in january 2014 itsu became the official partner of the volleyball england beach tour . 13 see also edit companies portal food portal list of restaurants in london references edit the journey so far . itsu limited . retrieved 2016 01 22 . moules jonathan . itsu founder nurtures a new generation the financial times london 21 january 2014 . retrieved on 21 january 2014 . a b smithers rebecca 8 october 2010 . pret a manger chief is stacking up healthy profits in lean times . the guardian . london . retrieved 24 april 2013 . a b ruddick graham 21 september 2013 . sunday interview pret a manger founder julian metcalfe . the telegraph . london . retrieved 21 september 2013 . a b itsu to open 20 more london outlets . the london evening standard . retrieved 24 april 2013 . 1m itsu restaurant to open in oxford . oxford mail . retrieved 5 september 2014 . vicki owen we re ahead of america in fast food . pret a manger founder julian metcalfe now looks to conquer the us with itsu this is money 09 august 2014 a b richard vines hold the mayo itsu healthy fast food chain eyes new york city bloomberg 07 august 2014 shelina begum 10 december 2015 . itsu picks spinningfields for manchester opening . manchester evening news . retrieved 18 january 2016 . vince bamford itsu to target retailers with new asian snacks the grocer june 2011 itsu grocery products itsu grocery itsu grocery where to buy itsu grocery charlotte edwardes mr itsu julian metcalfe on beautiful lean cuisine why he loves london s hard working immigrants and his noisy troupe of children and steps london evening standard 3 february 2014 external links edit official website itsu grocery website sushi locations v t e sushi history of sushi list of sushi and sashimi ingredients california roll ch toro conveyor belt sushi decouverte du sushi gari ginger hanaya yohei hangiri odori ebi omakase seattle roll sushi pizza tare sauce tobiko tofu skin wasabi retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title itsu & oldid 735730837 categories restaurants in londonsushi companiesjapanese restaurantsrestaurants established in 1997hidden categories articles needing additional references from september 2015all articles needing additional referenceswikipedia articles with possible conflicts of interest from september 2015articles with a promotional tone from september 2015all articles with a promotional toneuse dmy dates from august 2012all articles with unsourced statementsarticles with unsourced statements from september 2015 navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages add links this page was last modified on 22 august 2016 at 18 55 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; additional terms may apply . by using this site you agree to the terms of use and privacy policy . wikipedia is a registered trademark of the wikimedia foundation inc. a non profit organization . privacy policy about wikipedia disclaimers contact wikipedia developers cookie statement mobile view