Eat17 merges businesses

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Eat17 has merged its retail and restaurant businesses to help survive the coronavirus pandemic.

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The Eat17 business, started by James Brundle and his step-brother Chris O’Connor in 2006, decided to expand its Spar shop in Walthamstow into their restaurant next door to cope with the demand in the shop while the restaurant remains closed. In doing so, it has allowed them to diversify their offer by making the store a destination for bakery products.

Its Hackney store has seen retail merge with foodservice and the Eat17 team of chefs create ‘Eat17 homemade’ a range of ready-to-go food for now and food for later developed with only the freshest ingredients. The range varies from a chicken and bacon club sandwich through to Vegan Thai curries or Lobster Bisque.

In Hammersmith it has seen street food suppliers work seamlessly with retail, using concession units for developing street food brands enabling customers to grab a freshly made, lunch or dinner solution or take the time to eat in and enjoy a cold glass of beer from the instore bar.

Brundle said: “It’s not something anyone would ever wish to happen, but what I love about our retail and restaurant community is that they’re not just sitting around waiting for it to end and wishing for it to be over.

“They are using their time to start something new or solve the problem and we feel there is a great opportunity for retail and restaurants to merge and start a new wave of exciting food and drink concepts.”