Low footfall forces Oklava Bakery + Wine to close indefinitely

In a video posted on her Instagram page​​, Kiazim says that low footfall in central London had made the site unviable, and so the decision has been taken to close it in order to safeguard the future of Oklava's flagship Shoreditch restaurant.

"Unfortunately we've taken the decision to close our bakery restaurant in Fitzrovia," she says.

"We gave it a crack for a couple of weeks, but it hasn't quite worked out.

"There's just not enough people in Central London and the surrounding areas, and we can't afford to have weeks like we've just had with low footfall, low bookings."

Kiazim adds that the original Oklava Shoreditch site, which she opened with Laurie Christie in 2015, has been 'doing ok' since it reopened following the Coronavirus lockdown, and that she hopes the team will be able to keep building on that momentum. 

"We're not sure if we'll open the bakery again, time will tell," she continues.

"It's a difficult climate, and if we can [open again] it will probably be a couple of months, and some real normality will need to have returned.

"But until that time, and possibly forever, it will remain closed."

Oklava Bakery + Wine only opened in January this year​​, occupying the space that previously housed Kiazim and Christie's Turkish pasta restaurant concept Kyseri.

The pair were able to launch the new venture following a successful Kickstarter campaign​​ that raised more than £20,000.

Last month, Oklava announced was one of a handful of restaurants in the capital to announce it was doing away with adding a service charge to its bills​​, choosing instead to incorporate the cost into the menu prices.