How London Food Concepts Are Transforming Retail

London landlords have a growing appetite for food-based projects and not merely as an amenity bolted on to residential and retail developments. Some of London’s hottest restaurants, food halls, artisanal markets and rooftop gardens are the stars in their own right, luring tenants and reliable footfall. Wising up to the enhanced marketing opportunities and developer returns, landlords are going with the trend and giving particular consideration to food offerings.

Food Halls

Fortnum & Mason, the grocery to the Queen, offers the finest British delicacies: caviar, fine chocolates, smoked salmon, venison, meat pies, vintage marmalade and rose petal jelly, and lighter-than-air macarons. Harrod’s and Selfridges rival the standard with their luxurious spreads, but high street department stores like Marks & Spencer are also embracing the concept. Marks & Spencer has announced it will close up to 30 stores while opening new food halls and Marks & Spencer Simply Food shops at the same time. A new 7,700 SF food hall in Corby is set to open its doors on November 23. The new store will offer more than 6,000 food and drink lines, freshly prepared warm winter meals, healthy cooking options, sweet treats and luxurious party food.

Markets

Borough Market, London’s historic fresh food market, had languished for decades until the organic food movement in the 1990s launched it into a major tourist attraction and turned us into a nation of foodies. Supermarket shoppers turned to the stalls of fresh produce and the aisles of goat’s cheese instead of the dubious-quality processed stuff they bought at the shops. The virtuous feeling of eating organically proved addictive. With so many people huddled over the heritage-brand apples every Saturday morning, other retailers and mall developers noticed and spawned a thousand smaller markets all over the city.

Food Hubs

The concept is part market/part street fair. Network Rail recently launched Flat Iron Square, a complex of food offerings including an all-day California brunch eatery, food trucks, salad stands, Turkish dumplings, and anything else that might whet your whistle. The food stalls and shops are intermingled with entertainment and music venues.

Shoreditch Food Village offers the same relaxed, friendly environment populated by street food concepts. Surrounding it is the wider Shoreditch Village development that will consist of retail, offices, a CitizenM hotel and apartments.

Rooftop Dining

Rooftop terraces are de rigueur in every new development, and often developers are ensuring those vibrant communal spaces have dining and drinking options. Whether nibbling salad from the Shard’s sky garden or having a cocktail overlooking St. Paul’s Cathedral at One New Change, rooftops are no longer wasted space.