Welcome to our new regular feature, “Why We Love”, where we take a look at the cities you work in and what you love about them. In this feature we’re focusing on the West End of London. We’ve interviewed a number of local businesses and influencers to find out exactly what makes the West End so special.
Local businesses we’ve interviewed:
- Paramount, a stylish restaurant, bar and events space at the top of Centre Point opened in 2008. Not only is Soho a dining destination, but it also has a thriving daytime community as well, which they credit with helping their business grow. As to what Paramount love about the West End? “Its vibrancy and quirkiness. There is always something fun and surprising happening.”
- Bartle Bogle Hegarty are a global creative advertising agency, whose West End offices were established in 1982. According to Sarah Pollard, the Communications Director at BBH, “We love being part of one of the most creative and unique areas of London. We can walk to many meetings from where we are, and of course we are surrounded by the best restaurants and shops in the world!” Furthermore, she explains that in her industry, it’s very important to be in the heart of the creative centre, which is Soho. Their staff, supplies and clients enjoy coming to the area, and it stimulates their creativity being amongst other like-minded businesses.
- Rosenfeld Porcini is a contemporary art gallery that was founded in 2011, in the heart of the dynamic gallery district of London’s Fitzrovia. Jessica Bélanger, the Communications & Press Officer, took the time to tell us exactly why they love the West End. “It’s close to the Bond street area and has a great concentration of art galleries, which makes it a buzzy and creative neighbourhood. Furthermore, I love the very local feel with all the little restaurants and cafés. And there’s also a strong sense of solidarity between the businesses.” The location of their gallery has also helped their business grow due to the high volume of passing trade.
- Girl Meets Dress is an ecommerce business that rents out designer dresses and accessories to women for special occasions. The business was started in 1999, and moved into the West End shortly thereafter. Bryony from Girl Meets Dress explained that within the fashion industry, things happen very fast – working in the W1 postcode allows them to reach stylists and magazines quickly for drop offs or collections of dresses for photoshoots and general press. W1 also holds a lot of key fashion events so working in the area allows GMD staff to attend these with ease – so they have no excuses for being late!
- Landmark Plc provide high end, bespoke serviced office space at their new centre, which is located on Dover Street. This is their flagship centre in their West End portfolio, which opened in late 2013. Landmark’s Jenny Maynard said that “It [the West End] has a real buzz about it; we are just over the road from The Ritz which is pretty spectacular and Victoria Beckham’s flagship store is opening down the street. It feels like an exciting time to be here.”
- Primrose Bakery is a bakery and café in the heart of Covent Garden’s Opera Quarter, selling a range of delicious goods such as loaves, cookies, slices and layer cakes. Rachel from Primrose Bakery said, “It is such a broad area with different things going on in different pockets of the West End. Soho has fantastic family-run fabric shops like Borovick’s, Chinatown’s supermarkets feel like another world with all of their exotic treats and delicious baked goods, and then the Opera Quarter, which is full of bars, restaurants and places like Primrose Bakery, that are surrounded by the theatres.” Rachel also added: “Our customers are people off to the theatre, corporate businesses and lots of tourists who may just stumble across us, or seek us out to try our cupcakes.”
- The Luggage Room is a speakeasy-style barin Grosvenor Square, which was established a year ago. They’ve just won the honour of “Best Bar” in The Mayfair Awards 2013. Bar Manager Christ Strong told us that “W1 is an amazing place to work and socialise- there is so much variety and it has some of the best bars and restaurants in London”. He explained that the West End has helped his business grow because it is such a close-knit community – everyone looks after each other as much as they can.”
- Brooks and Brooks are a hair salon located in Sicilian Avenue. According to them, the West End “…has a variety of different people and is accessible to a diverse market – your client base is really different, from working career people to the super trendy or casual – that’s why we love it!” Brooks and Brooks cite the area’s transport links with helping their business grow, which make their salon easily accessible to clients.
1. What makes the West End unique from other business centres in the UK and around the world?
Paramount explained that “There is no other place like it – the West End is a world-class destination, and is the epicentre of power, influence, fashion, shopping and dining.” According to BBH, the West End has “Traditional landmarks mixed with culture, mixed with commerce, mixed with retail. It’s got everything.” Girl Meets Dress mentioned that “The West End is instantly recognisable across the world, so being able to pinpoint our business in this area is fantastic. W1 allows us easy access to anything and everything available in London through its great transport links – we’re only a tube ride away!”
Landmark Plc told us that the West End has so much going for it: the glamour and glitz, old school elegance, a diverse mix of people, and great bars and restaurants. And, according to The Luggage Room, ““W1 is unique because of the size of the area – everything is on your doorstep in terms of conference space/event space, eating and drinking establishments and also shopping.” Brooks and Brooks explain that in terms of hairdressing, London is a hotspot, due to the huge number of celebrity residents and other successful hairdressers operating in the West End.
2. What are the challenges of operating a business in the West End?
Sarah from BBH mentioned that “It’s busy, it’s loud and it’s hard to get access to our office in cars during certain hours – but the pro’s outweigh the cons!” Rachel from Primrose Bakery emphasised the competition, explaining that “There are lots of new businesses popping up in the West End. A lot of large brands and businesses are coming in, but in Covent Garden – and especially the Opera Quarter – there are some great small businesses that are really thriving.” Chris from The Luggage Room added that “W1 can sometimes be intimidating for those not familiar with the area.”
3. Where do you go for your morning coffee?
Paramount head to Number 26 Rathbone Place for their caffeine fix, whilst the staffers from Rosenfeld Porcini stop by TAPP coffee or The Attendant in Foley Street. Meanwhile, employees of Girl Meets Dress visit the Riding House Café for their afternoon pick-me-up.
According to Jenny from Landmark Plc, “Café Nero is great to grab a morning coffee, although if we were in “ideal-world-mode” we’d be afternoon tea-ing at The Ritz!”. For a relaxed morning coffee, Chris from The Luggage Room recommends Gordon Ramsey’s Maze.
4. Do you know of a hidden gem for business lunches?
BBH were full of suggestions! “Leon is brilliant for take away and go to Titbits in Heddon Street if you want something healthy. Liberty Cafe is also great as it’s full of a different crowd and situated amongst beautiful things. Cha Cha Moon is very quick, very cheap and delicious.”
According to Paramount, Giaconda Dining Rooms on Denmark Street is fantastic, whilst Jessica from Rosenfeld Porcini recommends Nizuni, Dabbous and many of the Italian joints in the area for a panini or fresh pasta.
Girl Meets Dress mentioned that Picture on Great Portland Street is their restaurant of choice, with great food and a superb selection of plates to share. Landmark Plc, meanwhile, are fans of Dover Street restaurant and wine bar. As for Primrose Bakery? “I love Siam Eatery on Wellington Street. They have great fresh takeaway Thai food, and it’s another small family run business.”
5. Where is your favourite spot for a drink after work?
Paramount recommends the London Cocktail Club, whilst Girl Meets Dress picked Berners Tavern as their bar of choice. BBH staff can be found in The Blue Post, conveniently situated opposite their offices, and Rosenfeld Porcini staffers recommend Bourne & Hollingsworth, The Reverend J W Simpson, or The Draft House. Landmark Plc love The Clarence, which they describe as “just a hop, skip and a jump over the road from us!” Brooks and Brooks keep it local, frequenting the Holborn Whippet for post-work pick-me-up.
Primrose Bakery have given Mishkins their stamp of approval: “Mishkins is just a few doors up from us and they serve excellent cocktails. They have a great style and delicious small plates. It’s a great atmosphere. Sitting at the bar with a cocktail is a great spot to people watch and see the bartenders mix up some drinks!”
A big thank you to the businesses who took the time to answer our questions! Do you have any West End hotspots you’d like to share with us? Let us know in the comments section below.
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