Provisions heads to Hackney

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North London-based natural wine specialist and deli Provisions is to open a retail and restaurant space in Hackney.

On the intersection of Hackney Road and Columbia Road, the new space will offer a similar range of products to the Holloway Road original but will also offer a sandwich menu curated by ex-Frenchie and Pollen Street social chef Maximilien Truel. 

A 12-seater chef's table will launch downstairs in September and will play host to a series of supper clubs as well as wine tastings, talks and DJ nights.

It will also be the base for the organic and natural wine-focused Provisions Wine School, which launched last year.

Exclusive to the Hackney store, the sandwich menu will see a new special each month alongside two classics; one signature and one vegetarian, with toastie options to be introduced in due course.

The ingredients will mostly be taken from the products that are on display, meaning the sandwiches can be recreated at home, and will use a variety of breads to ensure ‘diversity with each sandwich’, whilst showcasing the versatility of Provisions’ ingredients.  

Provisions will continue to focus on raw milk and farmhouse cheeses with the new site described as ‘providing the perfect backdrop’ for founder Hugo Meyer Esquerré to exhibit new cheeses discovered on trips to specialist affineurs. 

The majority of the cheeses sold at the Hackney Road site will never have yet been shown in the UK, and will all be freshly cut on demand. 

Like the original, the new Provisions site will major on natural wine but this time with a strong focus on the wines of Languedoc, Roussillon and Southern Rhone. 

The wholesale arm of Provisions provides wine and deli goods to businesses across the UK including Salon, 10 Greek Street, Antidote, The Laughing Heart, Frenchie, The Sun Tavern, Casse-Croûte and Claude Bosi’s Bibendum.

“Hackney is the place I feel most connected to in London, having lived here since 2009. There is a real sense of community here, and the fact that there are many great restaurants, outdoor markets and specialty food stores has led the residents to be more curious and enthusiastic about high quality products and the story associated with them," says Meyer Esquerré. 

"The shop will allow us to introduce new and beautiful goods, such as farmhouse cheeses and real wines, to an already thriving hub of independent businesses. We want to bring a special retail experience to Hackney, by sharing our knowledge and expertise and showing our customers how best to use our produce in the kitchen."