The Breakfast Club reposted this
That’s it. Done. Canary Wharf, 10 years, lease ends. Moving out. We built a stage. Some of the greatest acts in pop history played it (5ive and The Venga Boys) We did darts Ally Pally style. We built a bar, Dr Kluger’s Olde Town Tavern. We opened the world’s first Breakfast Pub. And we had our own Diner called The Duchess upfront for take away coffees and sandwiches. We did bloody everything. I think we can all agree, we did too much. Canary Wharf is a phenomenal location to have a restaurant. Stuart Fyfe and the retail team have created one of the great eating and drinking hubs in our capital, thank you for having us. We’d move back in in a heartbeat. Despite the complexities of the site our team did a wonderful job. If they survived their time in TBC Canary Wharf, we always said they could go on to do anything. I guarantee you one of them will become Prime Minister in the not too distant future. Well done all of you. We had some proper regulars as well. Funnily enough probably more so than any of our other cafs. The Breakfast Pub these last few years turned into the bar we always wanted it to be. Thank you to all our customers over the last decade. But a cautionary tale. Many years ago, I watched Paul Campbell give a talk on the dangers of going all out on a flagship store. I ignored it. Off the back of hugely successful bars in Spitalfields and London Bridge, big live music nights in Hoxton and queues at The Breakfast Club, ego got the better of me and we broke our own rule #1 at The Breakfast Club - never getting too big for our boots. 5,500 sq ft on three floors is too big for our boots (it was a busy restaurant in too big a building). A 3 concept location is too big for our boots. A gold disco ball the size of a mini is too big for our boots (but what a disco ball!) Anyway. I think it will be the greatest work lesson I’ll ever take. An expensive lesson but a lesson well learned. I had a lot to learn back in 2014 , I still do. You can never take this industry for granted. I spoke with a couple of founders at a restaurant conference late last year about this lesson, they had a glint in their eye, they looked like me in 2014. I could see they were listening, but maybe not hearing me. Keep things simple, stick with what made your business a success in the first place and don’t get too big for your boots! Last year we opened our smallest caf yet in 7 Dials, Covent Garden. Just over 800 sq ft (a 7th of the size of TBC Canary Wharf) It serves Breakfast and Brunch from 7:30 to the afternoon. It’s called The Breakfast Club. It’s been our best opening in 12 years and maybe, possibly, ever. I still have a glint in my eye, but I’m older and most definitely wiser. About time too!