Fast food bites in

Amrest, the operator of KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants in Poland, plans to open two new restaurant chains in the country. Rodeo Drive will be a network of restaurants offering grilled beef, while Freshpoint is a sandwich bar chain.

"We plan to launch the chains in the next few weeks at the turn of March and April," Mateusz Sielecki from Amrest's investor relations departament said. He added that the first Rodeo Drive is to be opened in Wrocław, while Freshpoint will debut in Warsaw. "By the end of the year we plan to open a few Rodeo Drives and around eight to 10 Freshpoint outlets," Sielecki said. He claims that the Polish restaurant market is in its developing stages, which means significant opportunities for growth.

But despite its expansion plans, Amrest will face a tough competitor in Poland's pizza market. Papa John's Pizza - the third largest fast-food restaurant network in the US - plans to enter Poland. The company, which is present in 14 countries and has more than 3,000 restaurants worldwide, aims to open around 40 outlets in Poland in the near future. According to Arkadiusz Słodkowski, the director of Profit System, which on Papa John's behalf is looking for a partner in Poland, the firm already has more than 100 expressions of interest. Whichever company buys the license will have the rights to Papa John's logo in Poland and the right to sell franchise licenses. It is estimated that a potential investor would have to spend around $3 (zł.9.77) million on license rights and a further $1 (zł.3.26) million on opening the first few restaurants.