Loungers

Cosy Club

In August 2010, Loungers announced plans to launch a new brand named Cosy Club,[6] which operates in historic and listed buildings.[7] The first branch to open was on 3 September 2010 in Taunton, Somerset.[6] In January 2020, the largest Cosy Club restaurant to date opened, inside of a Grade II listed three-floor former casino building on Victoria Street in Nottingham, East Midlands, which was purchased for £1 million after sitting empty for 17 years.[8][9]

Brightside

In November 2022, it was announced that Loungers would launch a new roadside dining brand named Brightside, which drew inspiration from the defunct Little Chef chain. Gary Lloyd of The Morning Advertiser suggested the brand is also reminiscent of Happy Eater.[10] Loungers purchased three of the four restaurants used by American-diner chain Route Restaurants to convert into Brightside locations.[11] The inaugural Brightside location opened in one of these in February 2023, the former Happy Eater/Little Chef on the A38 in Kennford, near Exeter Racecourse.[12] As of November 2024, there are four Brightside locations across Cornwall, Devon and Rutland.[13]

COVID-19

In April 2020, during the then-ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Alex Reilley stated that their directors' pay had been cut by 50 per cent while their branches closed in March as a way of saving money. The chain's lending banks, Santander and the Bank of Ireland, agreed to provide them with a revolving credit of £15 million over the course of 18 months to manage their capital throughout the pandemic.[14]

On 6 April 2021, as the pandemic conditions were easing up and businesses were re-opening, Reilley criticised the idea of government-introduced coronavirus passports having to be shown at bars and restaurants, saying the idea was "unreasonably targeting" the restaurant sector, and they should instead be shown at theatres, cinemas and sporting events, where tickets are already checked on entry.[15] On 12 April, Loungers were able to re-open their sites in phases, with 47 English sites opening for takeaway and outdoor dining only during the third national lockdown, while five sites in Wales were permitted to re-open with the same rules on 26 April.[16] All Lounges re-opened in May, and, by October 2021, their revenue had almost doubled.[17]