10 Heddon Street curators launch restaurant residency service
Residency is a partnership between property consultancy Distrkt and restaurant experts Montana Fogg.
The team will help landlords looking to fill sites while they search for a permanent tenant and restaurateurs hoping to test their concepts without committing to a long lease.
The Residency team will manage each project from start to finish.
Distrkt says it has also received interest from investors who are keen to see new food brands brought to life.
Residency will initially operate in the capital, but Distrkt founder Camilla Topham told BigHospitality there was scope to run the project nationwide in a variety of sites such as shopping centres, hotels, and high streets.
The team first tested the concept in Mayfair’s 10 Heddon Street site, which in the last few months has hosted two short-term pop-ups, and the former Stem restaurant location.
Chefs David Carter and Chris Leach ran the first residency at 10 Heddon Street for four months, which has led to a permanent restaurant site.
Topham says the next occupant of the site will be an independent operator who has run London supperclubs, but never a standalone bricks and mortar restaurant.
“In the wake of troubles in the casual dining market independents have flourished, but there is a lot of caution among traders who don’t want to sign up to high rents," says Topham.
"Residency provides a comfort that new concepts can be tested. Landlords also need to make income but might take longer to find a permanent tenant, but we can bridge that gap. We’re trying to unlock spaces for independent operators who might have never had the opportunity to trade in the West End.
"These issues aren’t just limited to central London. We don’t see why Residency can’t go to any UK city, and Montana Fogg has worked on high-profile openings in New York.
“It would be quite easy for us to do this around the world and tap in to different food scenes. That is definitely an ambition for us and through our network we have the connections to make that happen.”
For more information contact Residency at https://www.thisisresidency.co.uk/ or through Instagram @this_is_residency.
