Unbridled JOY? Stevie Parle hopes for a return of his Portobello Dock project
Writing on Instagram, the chef and restaurateur says he is “working on bringing JOY home again” and that he was in discussions with the new landlord at the site.
“The site has been empty since we left and we might be able to get it back on a proper long term lease,” he says.
“We’re discussing it with the current leaseholder and new landlord.
“More Joy for summer ‘23?”
Parle opened JOY in the summer of 2020 with the intention of securing a long-term tenancy for the space. However, his plans never came to fruition after he says he struggled to secure a reasonable rent rate due to interest from other parties wishing to take over the space.
JOY eventually closed a year later at the end of June 2021.
"Sadly, despite our best endeavours and contrary to our expectations we were not given an opportunity to sign a long lease and we have lost the site to a West London-based street food/pub/club operator. I don’t know what they’re planning for it, but I do wish them luck,” he said at the time.
When it was open, JOY was home to outdoor restaurant FLORA, that served ‘hyper seasonal, beautifully simple summer food’ with daily changing blackboard menus written by Parle.
