Exclusive – Kerb CEO – we plan to open smaller format concept in London next year, vision is to be most impactful hospitality company in the world: Street food collective Kerb is planning to launch a smaller format food hall concept in London next year, which it will roll out to regional UK cities if successful. The business launched its first food hall in London’s Seven Dials Market in 2019, and recently launched sites in San Francisco with Ikea, and in Copenhagen with the Danish National Bank. Kerb will open a further flagship food hall site in Berlin, at the Potsdamer Platz scheme, next year. The Seven Dials site houses 19 vendors across 24,000 square foot. Kerb chief executive Simon Mitchell told last week's Propel Multi Club Conference: “We do have a smaller format idea that we're going to launch, hopefully early next year, and that is the thing that we think could rollout in the UK. The reason we are in Berlin is we don’t think a Seven Dials-style market is sustainable in many other cities in the UK. We don’t want to do anything smaller, one of the things that makes it special is its size, and could you run that seven-days a week in Leeds? I’m not sure. So, we have created a smaller format concept, which we have a site for, the first one will be in London, and that is the one we think we can roll out.” Mitchell said the company’s mission is to be “most impactful hospitality company in the world”. He said: “So we've taken our mission statement one step further now, and actually we've got this real bold vision that we presented to the team a year ago, and we wanted a real inspiring north star for our company, of where we could go to harness all this power that we have within our community. And our vision is to be the most impactful hospitality company in the world. And every site, everything we do, we also layer it with that impact, supporting local businesses, creating employment for people that maybe otherwise wouldn't get it, and helping people to start their own businesses. We're now looking into food waste and what we can do with that as well. But we're on a bit of a journey, and it’s just the start. In the last year and alone, we have 164 members we're supporting in three countries. We generated more than £25m-worth of spend for our members, and that is money directly going into the bank accounts of their independent food businesses. In the last year, 37 new businesses graduated from our incubator scheme, and through the McCain Streets Ahead project, we've donated £146,000 to 19 businesses. And we currently have 55 individuals being coached.” Mitchell was among the speakers at last week's Propel Multi-Club Conference. His video and the 12 others from the conference will be made available to Premium Club members on Friday, 27 September, at 9am. A Premium Club subscription costs an annual sum of £495 plus VAT for operators and £595 plus VAT for suppliers. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Premium Club for a year for £995 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or a supplier. Email kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com today to sign up.

US burger, shake and craft beer concept Black Tap secures UK debut sites: US burger, shake and craft beer brand Black Tap will make its UK debut this autumn in Westfield Stratford City, closely followed by the opening of a second larger flagship site in Soho, in early 2025. Black Tap, which currently operates seven sites across the US and 20 sites globally, was founded in 2015 by New York entrepreneur Chris Barish – a long-time promoter, nightclub owner and former business partner of Gordon Ramsay, and Julie Mulligan. The 100-cover restaurant in Westfield will be inspired by the original New York site, boasting the brand’s distinctive striped monochrome floors and walls decked in vibrant street art. The menu will feature Black Tap's award-winning craft burgers and chicken sandwiches served alongside a selection of snacks and sides including Korean barbecue wings. Black Tap’s menu will also feature burger salads, vegan dishes and vegetarian sides. It will also feature the brand’s CrazyShake milkshakes that have garnered a cult following, becoming a viral sensation, featuring larger than life toppings from slices of cake to cotton candy clouds and cookies. The company said: “As ever, craft beer will continue to be part of their DNA featuring limited-edition Black Tap brews alongside a curated list of cocktails mixed and shaken to order. Diners can expect to be greeted by booming beats as a signature playlist featuring hip hop artists from the 1980s and 1990s – the likes of De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest and Run DMC – provides the ultimate soundtrack to each visit.” Propel revealed in March that the brand had lined up an opening in Shaftesbury Avenue. It also revealed that it had hired Matt Chapman, formerly of Tortilla and Cornish Bakery, as head of operations ahead of its proposed launch in the UK. Propel reported at the end of 2022 that Black Tap was set to make a second attempt to launch in the UK. Gillingham Bell International and Highland Global were jointly appointed by Black Tap to manage its expansion into London in the next phase of an ambitious global roll out. Barish and Mulligan said: “Next year will mark ten years since we began Black Tap, which felt like the perfect time for us to bring everything that we're known for to the UK. For us, London has always been somewhere we saw Black Tap growing, the underground culture has a lot in common with the NYC vibe from the 1980s and 1990s so we're very excited to see this dream become a reality.”