Problems with staffing. There are no programs. Giles Coren. Did you think restaurants were already in a tough spot? You haven’t seen anything yet. The chefs’ new enemy is the squatters. Since mid-last week, Gordon Ramsay’s Camden pub York & Albany has been occupied by a group of people who announced on Instagram plans to open a community cafe “for victims of gentrification”. A soup kitchen may have been under construction. Ramsey paid all of this on Tuesday and obtained a claim for ownership from the court.
Hours after that drama fizzled, Marco Pierre White’s understandably short-lived Leicester Square restaurant Mr White’s (closed since February) received similar treatment. The door was padlocked and a sign posted about the occupants’ rights, but none of this stopped police from securing the building yesterday afternoon. But you get the idea. If your heyday was in his ’90s and you were running a restaurant, these are dire times. Has anyone looked into Anthony Worrall Thompson? Is Rick Stein watching his back?
If your heyday was in the ’90s and you were running a restaurant, these are terrible times.
Something like this cannot happen in a private residence. Illegal occupation of another person’s home has been a crime since 2012. However, vacant commercial properties are more or less fair, legally speaking. I can see why. In overcrowded cities, empty buildings feel like a sin. I would rather sleep in an abandoned saloon than sleep outside on the sidewalk.
But it is also understandable, though economically unsound, for a freeholder to argue that it is a matter of privilege to leave one’s property empty. It’s ridiculous though. Few would welcome the process of obtaining a court order, and distressed squatters are unlikely to be police officers for maintaining good relations with their neighbors. What happens if they act? And, frankly, it just looks bad. I’m bracing myself for a deluge of PR nonsense detailing Gordon’s good deeds over the next few days. Ramsey’s team will be hard at work changing the optics.
The number of restaurant closures has increased alarmingly, with more than 500 closings across the country in the final quarter of 2023 alone, and many more vacant buildings are expected to emerge. It’s not just restaurants. Yesterday, the Standard reported the news that 20th Century Fox’s former headquarters in Soho Square had been requisitioned. The number of commercial leases and therefore untenanted commercial properties available in London is in the thousands. Earlier this year, a CoStar report suggested that vacancy rates across the metropolitan area, already at record highs, could rise again. According to forecasts, by the end of this year, the city’s vacancy rate will be 12.1%, up from 10.8% a year ago. In 2023, Canary Wharf will have a whopping 16.1%. In the West End, it is believed to be 9.7%. Many of these locations remain empty for months. Are we waiting for an epidemic of squatting?
That threat may give the capital’s landowners pause. London is the world’s most expensive city for commercial space and has remained so since overtaking Hong Kong last summer, Savills said. Perhaps the recent spate of squats may prompt a few freeholders to lower their rents. Vacant buildings will fill up faster, and enterprising types will face fewer obstacles in realizing their dreams. This was once a city of innovation, back when people could afford it. Who wants the hassle of squatters when you have paying customers instead? One of them might open a decent pub.
Heaven protect us, Meghan’s jam is sickeningly bad
Fitting for someone in a sticky situation, the Duchess of Sussex has revealed that the first product in her new lifestyle collection, American Riviera Orchard, is…strawberry jam. One piece of evidence was sent to 50 influencers, including Tracy Robbins, who showed her 7,000 or so followers the bottle with the label removed. Here’s how the first Prince Harry might seem to be in a jam right now, given declining sales to youth — Duchess Meghan, left, certainly knows how to support the losers I am. But perhaps this is a trickier move than it seems, as some reports suggest the jam market will grow 4% across North America between now and 2029.
This was a podcast that challenged archetypes and stereotypes surrounding the female experience and sought to position her as one of the most progressive women in the world, one of the most progressive women in the world (fortunately never recommissioned). It seems like a pretty desperate act for someone who had watched in vain. How to move from there to jam? It’s so disgusting that I feel like throwing up. Let’s talk about barrel polishing.
David Ellis is the Evening Standard’s Going Out editor
