The Consultant - Q1 2009 - (Page 36) PERSPECTIVES europe saucers and mugs, applying design guidelines which complemented the architect's designs and were also consistent with high traffic demands in terms of robustness and chip resistance. “Samples were then presented to the tenants. Once we had established menus from them, we went out and sourced additional accented dishes such as oblong plates for the two Far Eastern concepts and special bowls for a unit which focuses on Middle Eastern cuisine,” she explains. “We also looked at issues associated with crockery and cutlery fitting onto trays and how this worked as a v isual component within the customer experience.” Other central mall locations Above The Balcony is an elevated mezzanine called the Loft, where there are also plans for a multiplex cinema. Here, it made sense to lease the space to branded restaurants with a relatively high familiarity. Hence, large branches of three well-known family-friendly high street chains in pizza, chicken and hamburgers respectively (PizzaExpress, Nando's and Byron) have opened with a branch of the popular Italian chain Spaghetti House opening in 2009. Other newcomers to the London eating-out scene dotted through Westfield's wide shopping corridors include Butler's Chocolate Café, the first overseas branch of a popular Irish chain; and Sacred, a New Zealand concept featuring “flat white” coffees and other Antipodean favourites. Surprisingly perhaps, there are no pubs, although many outlets include separate bars. The only purely barstyle operation is Searcy's 1847 Champagne Bar, a second unit of a concept originally created for St. Pancras International Rail Station (featured on the cover on The Consultant third quarter 2008 edition). The stylish 34-seater at Westfield offers five specially selected champagnes plus a light, chef-inspired menu, and is in an island position near a section filled with designer label stores. MARKET Unproven concepts What about the risks of bringing together a mix of mostly small and sometimes unproven concepts? Most of the operators at Westfield are already experienced in highly competitive London high street environments, but an ambitious and adaptable attitude has clearly been needed. For example, restaurateur Tony Kitous, owner of a small chain of full service dining outlets, had no inhouse experience of fast food service in creating and running his Comptoir Libanais, featuring popular Middle Eastern dishes. Vincent McKevitt, owner of the Tossed chain of quick service salad lunch-stops, likewise has had to experiment with various hot dishes in order to widen his offer in the evenings. “Nearly all of the guys in The Balcony had not delivered in this kind of environment before,” Belam admits. “So when we presented our plans to them we didn't just go on about how beautiful it was going to look but on how the site was going to work and on the practicalities of the clearing and the wash-up, and how operationally we would work hand-in-hand with them to create a new experience. Because they fell in love with the concept, they were prepared to make tweaks to their normal operations.” INTERNATIONAL Al fresco street The Southern Terrace, the third major foodservice zone at Westfield London, is another diversion from standard mall design, being built as an external pedestrian “street” made up of 17 individual restaurants with their own frontages. The Terrace runs a distance of 300m at the southern end of the mall and links two main entrance areas. Trading from morning until midnight, it has a different role and ethos to the other foodservice zones, suiting regular use by people living locally as well as serving shoppers – attracted from a much wider radius – wanting a longer meal or refreshment break. Hence the mix of a few recognizable high street brands like Wagamama, the Real Greek and Gourmet Burger Kitchen alongside a number of operations which are completely new to the UK. The latter include Tibits, a small Swiss chain selling vegetarian salads by weight via a self-service boat-style counter; the South African-owned international chain, The Meat and Wine Co; and Ito, a “fast food for foodies” concept with conveyor bar service of small-plate European cuisine. A few Terrace operators already have a small presence in London, an example being Fire & Stone, noted for “fusion” pizzas inspired by five Continents with madefrom-scratch dough baked in a giant copper- clad circular woodburning oven; Kitchen Italia, a buzzy modern take on the traditional Italian cantina which combines communal seating with a menu of hundreds of regional Italian pastas prepared with authentic homemade sauces; and two hybrid restaurant/cafe/deli concepts, Esca and Dell'Aziz, both majoring on ethnic bakery and dishes within an eclectic format. Notable architectural features of Southern Terrace's “High Street” include a horizontal fountain fronting a long wall of greenery and facing several of the restaurants, plus the ability of all operators to employ outside seating terraces, giving them extra trading capability in good weather as well as a refuge for smokers. “Restaurants today need to have an outside facility to interact with the public and that also ensures that there is plenty of life right through until midnight,” Belam observes. Bruce Whitehall is a journalist and videomaker based in Surrey, England. He writes for several UK and European foodservice publications and is the author of two Financial Times surveys on foodservice branding. He can be reached at bruce.whitehall@ blueyonder.co.uk. 36 theconsultant
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