Mercato Metropolitano makes moves on Mayfair
Mercato Mayfair will open on North Audley Street near Bond Street station, and will offer a community-focused variety of artisan food; a restaurant; a deli; cheese and wine shops; a coffee and gelato bar; a patisserie; a brewery; a flower shop; educational activities with emphasis on food and social responsibility; an urban farm; and a rooftop cocktail bar.
The 15,000 sq ft site spans four storeys, and has undergone a £5m, two year-long restoration led by property company Grosvenor. When the venture launches, it will be the first time in decades that the former St. Mark’s Church has been open to the public.
The restoration has seen the building retain its heritage features, and the launch date of the site is subject to the approval of license and planning applications.
Mercato Metropolitano launched in Elephant and Castle in 2016, and has incubated over 48 independent food and beverage operators, placing emphasis on sustainability of the environment and revival of the neighbourhood.
Previous projects have included a vertical garden built in a double decker bus; and a business that grows mushrooms from spent coffee grounds from local coffee shops. It was described as a "cheerful eating experience" by Jay Rayner in a Guardian review.
Property company Grosvenor is similarly concerned with the environment and the capital’s population, and is currently expanding its estate to “tackle the pressures facing the capital by increasing capacity and creating better streets, greener spaces and more enterprising places.”
“Mercato Metropolitano is developing a movement through its sustainable, community-driven business model which aims to substitute the food value chain with a food network. It celebrates artisan food as an important catalyst for social cohesion and conviviality,” says Andrea Rasca, founder of Mercato Metropolitano.
“Our first UK site in Elephant & Castle is proof that the social community has embraced our concept of good, natural and sustainable food as the basis of wellbeing and that eating together is an essential component of a vibrant and solid society.”
