Hawksmoor to launch Hawksmoor at Home as its thoughts turn to reopening

Hawksmoor at Home will allow people to ‘enjoy what we do in their own homes irrespective of where they live in the UK or how soon they want to come back to restaurants’, say owners Will Beckett and Huw Gott in an update on their business. 

The pair say the launch of Hawksmoor at Home will initially be in small numbers as they would rather try and do something great than fast or in huge numbers.

The group also says it plans to open one restaurant in London as soon as practical and learn as much as it can about operating in the new circumstances before applying that learning to getting the rest of the restaurants open as soon as possible after that.

It says it will prioritise ‘doing it right’ over ‘doing it quickly’. “The government’s intended but unconfirmed date is 4th July at the earliest in England, and probably not until August in Scotland. We will let you know as soon as we can,” it says.

Hawksmoor currently has almost 700 team members on furlough, and Beckett and Gott say that one of the real joys about starting to reopen its restaurants will be bringing those who are able back to work. 

“We’ve been in regular contact with them all, trying to provide additional support where required, and we’ve shared with them many of the lovely messages some of you have sent us about your feelings about Hawksmoor, most of which talk about the wonderful people who work here.”

“Planning a bounce-back has kept us all going – the thought that not only will the restaurants re-open, but we’re going to try and do everything we can to make sure that Hawksmoor is even better than before. 

“We want to do that for everyone who works with us, but more than anything we want to do it for you – this lockdown is a reminder that restaurants do so much more than feed us, they feed our souls. Restaurants are about people … being with people you care about, laughing, talking, learning and enjoying each other’s company. 

“We can’t wait to get back.”

During lockdown, Hawksmoor has made more than 10,000 meals for people needing nutritious meals across the country and has supported charities and initiatives including Cook-19, the London Food Alliance, Pepys Social and Evelyn Estates Supermarket projects, City Harvest, Chefs in Schools, Eat Well Manchester and Soul Food Edinburgh.

It says it will hopefully surpass 15,000 meals by the end of the month, and its staff will continue to volunteer for the charities and cook for the people they support once its restaurants have reopened.