Cottons, which has restaurants in Camden and Islington, will open Cottons Rhum Shack next month in a first floor unit at Boxpark, a temporary shopping centre set up in East London made from disused and re-fitted shipping containers.
Cottons Rhum Shack takes inspiration from the rum shops found in the Caribbean and aims to have a relaxed vibe with drinkers able to spill out from the first floor unit into an outside bar to listen to live music.
Rum will be integral to all drinks with 250 varieties to be stocked behind the bar. Cocktails will start at £7.50 and will include some of its restaurants' tried and tested options, such as Caribbean Yellow Bird, Sorrel Sling and Jamaican Mule.
While drinks will be the main focus, the operator does plan to serve food, offering a Caribbean buffet at lunch time and Caribbean tapas and a selection of grilled dishes in the evening.
"Cottons is the home of Caribbean hospitality in London and the Rhum Shack will be the place to drink the region’s best rum, either over ice or in our signature cocktails. We are hoping to give Londoners a taste of what’s like to sip a cool drink as the sun sets over the beach hut and the island party begins," said Cottons Rhum Shack manager Oscar Morales.
Boxpark
The company joins a host of food and drink operators, such as Simply Fish, who will open a unit at Boxpark later this month, salad bar Chop'd, Mexican burrito bar La Cantrina, Thai and Lao Street Food and burger outlet Bukowski.
The temporary mall, which opened in 2011 with plans to run for four years, has provided a useful platform for a number of start-up food and fashion brands as well as give more options for expansion for existing brands.