The development of new food and drink hubs throughout London and the surrounds has been given the go ahead for the New Year, according to a recent article published on BigHospitality.com.
It looks increasingly likely that food hubs are destined to be a key trend in and around London in 2016. Following on from the success of the first Boxpark development, initially set up in 2011 in London's trendy Shoreditch area, the retail unit has set its sights on a south London location in Croydon for summer 2016. However, the Croydon Boxpark development's unique selling point is that it will not involve any fashion and retail outlets, putting the spotlight on food and drink traders only. The intention is to double the size of the original store and provide capacity for 2,000 people on a site consisting of 80 shipping containers.
It has been confirmed by Boxpark founder and CEO Roger Wade that 75% of the units have already been signed for with involvement from familiar restaurant names such as Bukowski, MEATliquor and Bang Bang Vietnamese Canteen as well as from street food brands like Bhangra Burgers who will be opening their first permanent site at the Croydon development.
Newcomers to the street food scene, London Union, are also planning to launch a variety of food markets in sites around London, thanks to the efforts of a crowdfunding campaign set up in October with the aim of raising £3.5m towards their cause. The campaign has generated approximately £2.5m so far with the rest of the sum predicted to come through private investment. Co-founder Henry Dimbleby has expressed his hope that seven of the planned markets will be open by summer 2016 and that a flagship market site will be on the cards for 2017.
Dimbleby added that London Union were "in discussions with one of the iconic London market sites... [and] the idea of having a floating market on the Thames is still a possibility."
It appears that the next couple of years should see some exciting developments to the dining scene in and around the capital.
