East London based ‘Eat17’ have unveiled plans for their much anticipated High Road Leytonstone restaurant and grocery store.
Exterior before renovation began
The site has been used by a number of companies most recently a ‘ShoeWorld’ which closed in 2017. Built in 1936 and designed by George Grey Wornum CBE, (the highly regarded architect behind the Headquarters of the Royal Institute of British Architects) it was originally home to the Gas, Light and Coke Company but has since fallen into a state of disrepair.
Artists impression of the exterior
Eat17 have a track record of restoring locations to former glory, first with their Walthamstow Village restaurant and Spar store, and more recently with the takeover of the Electric Cinema in Hackney – rightfully regarded as an Art Deco masterpiece. Eat17 not only showed taste with the renovation, but also in a nod to its history, have teamed up with Castle Cinema, an independent, crowdfunded community Hackney-based company, to show films suitable to audiences of all ages.
Eat17 is the brainchild of two local lads, Chris O’Connor and James Brundle, stepbrothers who fast became best friends. In 2006 they decided they wanted to work for themselves, so saved up, took over a run-down shop in Walthamstow, East London and got down to business. “It had been a Londis shop in the 1970s,” Chris explains, “and hadn’t seen a lick of paint in 40 years”. “We bought a really run down Ford transit van and we didn’t have much of an idea at the time about retail” James states. “We did know one thing though, we really wanted to create a different retail environment”. They slept in it the van outside the shop after putting in 20 hour days getting the shop ready. Once opened, “It was usually one of us behind the till and one of us would go out and do the shopping” Chris fondly remembers. The guys had bigger plans however.
The Bar / Restaurant area of the new Leytonstone location
In partnership with Spar, they stocked their shop by using small local suppliers wherever possible, and relied on Spar’s supply chain for more mundane items (foil, toothpaste etc) and in return the local population started to visit the store, first using it as a convenience store, but then changing their habits to do the weekly shop after the appreciating the range, quality and price of the items. Chris says “Our ethos is about having interesting, innovative, unique local, seasonal ingredients and seasonal products, but at the same time we also offer everyday value” (many of which are Tesco price matched). Amongst the 4,000 products that are stocked each store you will find up-and-coming labels like ‘Pearly Queen Honey’ (made by an East London collective of urban beekeepers), Mae + Harvey Juices (Roman Road) and Crate Brewery Cider (Hackney Wick), as well as more famous brands. When they find a local, reliable supplier they throw all their enthusiasm behind them. “It takes 6 months for the big four [supermarkets] to put a new product on the shelf; we can do it in 6 minutes”. “At Eat 17, we’re proud to be ‘not your average store’. We’re dedicated to doing things the right way; thinking local, prioritising people before profit, taking great pride in our work and, most of all, putting proper food on your plate”.
The Leytonstone branch will include a florists near the entrance, taking a cue from its popular Hackney sister shop.
After cooking up some sausage rolls for customers in the back of the grocery shop and finding them popular, James and Chris bought the restaurant next door when it came up for sale. The food cooked there used the same local-where-possible approach, and became a huge success. One of the items they created in the kitchen was ‘Bacon Jam’, so delicious that it was raved about in the local newspapers, and caught the attention of (Leytonstone born) Jonathan Ross. Sensing a hit, the brothers mixed up a batch and put it on the shelves next door in the grocers. It quickly sold out. Bacon Jam now comes in 4 flavours, is served in the restaurant in a variety of dishes, and is sold in over 1500 stores across the UK (including Sainsbury’s and Waitrose).
The Leytonstone store will have 3 ‘Street Food’ stalls
Eat17 now has branches in Walthamstow, Hackney, Bishop’s Stortford, Whitstable and another location opening soon in Hammersmith, but it’s the Leytonstone location that they now have their eyes on, and are keenly aware that their plans have piqued the curiosity of local people. The exterior of the building has been covered in recent months, ready for a big unveiling in July 2018. “We like to offer a wow factor” says Chris. The images featured in this article are the first seen of their plans. The store will feature three ‘Street Food’ stalls, showcasing partnerships with local suppliers. There will also be a cafe and bar area flooded with natural light and beautiful plants. The aim is to create a relaxed and unpretentious setting, day or night.Retail ‘Experts’ say that the interiors of any store should look the same when they have multiple branches, so that customers can identify with it and navigate around but “We don’t buy that,” says James. “Some have got cinemas, bakeries, fish counters, food courts and gift shops – and we’re thinking about a barber’s.”
In many ways they have been making it up as they go along, choosing to discard rules which do not apply to their business or the needs of their customers, and forging their own path. It seems to be working; The Walthamstow store won ‘Best Store in the UK’ from The Grocer Magazine, and made the shortlist the next year for ‘Best Store in the World’. Adam Leyland, editor of The Grocer, described E17 as ‘the future template for the metro convenience sector’.
Recent success has come to their Hackney store, being ‘Best UK Store’ by The Grocer in 2016, and the hope is that the new Leytonstone store will win similar praise.
“Eat17 has come a long way since its “Ford Transit days” says James, “but we still do very much believe that any area that we go into we will offer the best, and we want to offer a unique shopping experience, that the local people in that area want.”
