Bar and restaurant operators' eye ‘meanwhile’ sites

22 May 2020

Restaurant and bar operators are on the hunt for large, open-air ‘meanwhile’ sites as the government considers allowing hospitality operators to turn public spaces into al fresco drinking and dining establishments, according to a report in Property Week.

Bar operator MJMK, which co-founded Vinegar Yard in London Bridge in 2019 and operates the bars at Pop Brixton is eyeing ‘meanwhile’ space with a view to installing bars in large outdoor or semi-outdoor areas.

“It looks like outdoor drinking is going to be more prevalent and people are going to shy away from cramped bars for the foreseeable future,“ MJMK co-founder Marco Mendes told Property Week.

“We’re looking at rooftops, car parks and potentially sites that will become something else or have planning for other projects a year or two away, where the landlord is looking to sweat the asset in the meantime.”

Sites are expected to be taken on a short or rolling lease or a temporary licence. Charlie Catterall, co-founder of retail and leisure consultancy ETCH, said that the ability to set up temporary outdoor establishments could throw the hospitality sector a lifeline.

“If you create something like Vinegar Yard, build it with Covid-19 in mind and find some spaces that local councils can be lenient with in terms of trading, that could be a good platform for operators to make some good money during this difficult time.”

Housing and local communities secretary Robert Jenrick is considering calls by the UK Grand Outdoor Café to allow hospitality operators to serve food and drink in open spaces and squares outside their locations.

The campaign, spearheaded by The Piano Works founder Alan Lorrimer, is backed by more than 70 operators including D&D London, Revolution Bars Group and The Breakfast Club.

Lorrimer told Property Week the scheme would begin once operators were able to reopen, which reports suggest could be from 4 July, and “hopefully” run until September.