Three new casual dining restaurants have signed to open on Sayer Street at Elephant Park in London's SE17.
The new eateries, one brand new concept and two established local operators, have joined the £2.3bn regeneration project being delivered by Lendlease and Southwark Council in the heart of the capital.
Traditional Ethiopian restaurant, Beza, are evolving their existing concept to become a trend-led 100 per cent vegan eatery. The brand will be serving a wide range of authentic dishes, including the national food ‘teff injera’ – the 100% gluten free sourdough flatbread – alongside coffee sourced from Ethiopia.
Tasty Jerk will provide classic Caribbean dishes such as Jerk Chicken, Curry Goat, and Ackee & Saltfish. Jamaican national Rayon Johnson, together with his wife Linda, will combine his grandmother’s traditional recipes with their own creative flair, and use locally-sourced produce from East Street market in combination with authentic imported ingredients.
Authentic Pan Asian cuisine operator, Pot & Rice, will be serving rice pot selections, rice pastry (cheung fun) mochi, yuzu cheese cake, fruit tea, and milk tea, bringing modern Asian food culture together under one roof.
Beza and Tasty Jerk were previously tenants at Artworks Elephant, Lendlease's pop-up retail park at Elephant Park, which was created to provide community-led space for start-ups and small businesses in the area.
The news follows the launch of the leasing of the next phase of Elephant Park, which comprises 16 food & beverage units totalling 37,000 square feet clustered in two distinct districts: Ash Avenue and New Kent Road and Chatteris Quarter.
Within this phase, Lendlease is seeking to attract further local independent businesses and established London brands to create a new food destination in London’s Zone 1 that will serve residents, whilst also appealing to visitors from across the capital.
Guy Thomas, Head of Retail at Lendlease, commented, “Lendlease is continuing to provide spaces through which local start-ups and growing operators can build successful businesses.
'These three brands – two of whom were part of our Artworks Elephant incubator pop-up and all are locally based – will be great additions to Elephant Park. They are also an ideal complement to our plans for the next phase of Elephant Park, where independent operators will sit alongside well-known London brands.”
Beza Ethio, Founder of the eponymous brand, said, “The opportunity to open a restaurant at Elephant Park is one we could not miss. We worked very closely with Lendlease throughout our time at Artworks Elephant, and were able to develop our brand enough to be confident in opening a permanent space.
'East African food is not properly represented in the UK, but we know our delicious range of Ethiopian dishes – which are completely vegan – will be a hit in this part of Southwark, given our hugely successful time in Artworks.”
Chris Liang, Restaurant Manager at Pot & Rice, added, “Elephant Park is a great location for our Rice Pot concept, and we are delighted to sit alongside such an interesting and diverse array of restaurants and retailers.
'The development looks very impressive already, and joining at this early stage will allow us to establish our brand with local residents and workers.”
News of the new signings follows the announcement earlier this summer of three more local operators at Elephant Park: The Tap In, Dima Beautiful and Koi Ramen. In addition, sustainable community food market operator, Mercato Metropolitano, will open MM Factory, 17,500 sq ft of retail, dining and social space, later in the year.