I started out training as a traditional commercial property surveyor working on building sites and with all types of property… offices, industrial, retail.. you name it I let it! One day it just popped into my head that I’d love to work with restaurants as I had a love of hospitality through my father who was an excellent chef and hospitalitarian. I saw the impact of gastronomy on creating places and was fascinated by that. My father was also an incredible property developer with a great vision for placemaking evening before it was a thing so it was very much in my blood to bring property and hospitality together.
I love being in restaurants and I love food soI have made my work not feel like work! The Hospitaity industry is exciting, vibrant and ever changing and I love interacting with so many passionate and creative people from all over the world at different stages of their journey. A good restaurant is so impactful; both on the physical environment and on our emotional wellbeing and sense of connection. Food and restaurants bring people together and this is something that has occurred since the beginning of time.
When I arrived in London from Manchester many years ago to work in restaurant property, the only restaurant I had been working with was McDonalds so I found the restaurant scene at that time hugely exciting. There were so many small new restaurants opening up but the scene was so much smaller than it is today. The Smoking Goat on Denmark Street absolutely hooked me.. I loved how tiny, cramped and smoky it was and I also really really loved the chicken wings! It was a game changer inspired so many of the successful restaurants that we see today.
All of our clients have different objectives, and it’s our role to advise them in choosing concepts which align with these as well as considering the characteristics and demographics of the location; which is fundamental in the success of the operation. If the client is placemaking and has a long-term view then we encourage them to be creative and work with exciting, new and destinational operators. Other clients are looking for more established operators that are a safer bet or if they are looking to sell the building or development. At Distrkt we pride ourselves on partnering operators with the right landlords and we have done this over the years withShaftesbury Capital and the curation of Kingly court, Borough Market which we have repositioned recently with a number of exciting new restaurants and Somerset House who we are working with at the moment.
A huge part of our role is working with our clients to optimise spaces for restaurants. The M&E specification is critical to creating a successful restaurant. The look and feel and shape of the site will also dictate what type of operation will be most successful and it’s overall ‘vibe’. In Soho a lot of our properties are long and thin and essentially this type of property created the counter dining culture Soho is known for as it’s the most efficient use of these types of spaces. Configuration is critical to optimising number of covers and smooth operations.
As costs in London have continued to rise and provide higher barriers to entry, there is a huge opportunity for operators opening outside of London. Manchester is very much considered now to be the second city with a very exciting emerging hospitality scene and is currently experiencing the highest rate of migration outside of London but other cities such as Leeds, Bristol and Liverpool also present opportunities. The attraction for operators is securing a property at a cheaper rent and benefitting from a larger share of the market. The flip side is shorter trading windows and differing demographics/habits and also price sensitivity. Whilst Manchester is seeing a huge number of branded operators and also Mayfair style operators opening, I see an opportunity for more chef led independent concepts to open in the city. Distrkt is currently working with some key Landlords in Manchester city centre who are very open to collaborative deals with creative operators, and I believe we will see the market grow substantially over the coming years.
Rents have been getting higher and in prime locations this is not going to go backwards as demand continues to outstrip supply for prime locations. Whilst Landlords are working more collaboratively with their tenants and also proactively working to understand hospitality businesses better, a challenge for them is the inability to value turnover income and they are hindered in this. I would like to see this change as I believe it will enable base rents to lower and therefore more creativity and lower barriers to entry for more independent operators opening in prime locations.
To keep persevering! It can take a long time to pin down a site and it can be very competitive. I would ensure that you have a great deck showcasing the offer and the credentials of the team behind it. Having funding in place is also far more attractive to Landlords than concepts which need to raise funds. Also partner with people who have a good reputation in the sector and can open doors, work with known mentors.
Restaurants have a huge impact not only on the vibrancy of the area but they draw people and attract other uses and demographics to a location. People will travel for something that excites them so the ability of restaurants to regenerate areas is incredibly powerful. For most people where they live and work now is dictated by the restaurant and hospitality offering in the local vicinity.
There has been relentless headwinds for the sector for the past few years and the fallout of both the pandemic and Brexit has been challenging for the industry. There is ongoing challenges relating to staffing, food inflation and the impact of the cost of living crisis. More recently there is the impact from the increase in the national living wage which kicks in from April this year, funding challenges as hospitality has become less attractive to investors and a lot of uncertainty with the election pending and the US election later this year. The cumulative impact is a slower expansion market and undoubtedly there will be some casualties along the way and perhaps some more surprising high profile ones like Simon Rimmer’s restaurant ‘Greens’ which shocked the industry with it’s closure at the start of the year.
A back to basics approach of offering excellent service, good value and ensuring that locals / regulars are looked after and repeat custom is nurtured Keeping a firm eye on costs is important but don’t cost engineer out the soul, essence and buzz of the restaurant which is what people are looking for when they have to make choices about where to spend their money.
I absolutely love Tokyo. You can walk in anywhere and get incredible food (even the 7/11!). There are so many tiny, beautifully designed restaurants. The Golden Gai is incredible for tiny bars and Piss Alley for small, excellent quality restaurants. Soho in London is the place that’s closest to my heart. It’s completely unique with so many tiny incredible restaurants and hidden basement bars and clubs. Since moving to Manchester I’m really enjoying the vibe in Ancoats and some of my favourite places to eat and drink are there.
Good old fashioned hospitality and great pub food! It’s funny this is a trend but we are seeing more demand for pub sites than ever and some great pub dining rooms opening that are actually very traditional in their offer. For me excellent hospitality is the essence of any good restaurant and will never be a fad and I love that the industry has gone back to basics and is recognising that at the moment with restaurants like Maison Francois, Bouchon Racine, Josephine and The Devonshire. What excites you about the future of hospitality? Hospitality experiences have become critical to our lives as social beings and something we are unwilling to cut out of our lives. It is therefore taking centre stage in shaping our future places and becoming an increasingly important backdrop of our lives and source of our greatest enjoyment. What’s more its fun, exciting and full of passionate, creative people. The future is bright for hospitality; it’s a people led business that can’t be replaced by the internet and so it’s incredibly resilient when you consider that. Here in the UK we have the most exciting scene in the world. Landlords will continue to recognise this and ensure hospitality is at the forefront of placemaking.
