Wednesday 23 March 2011

There’s More to ‘Popping Up’ Than Many People Realise

With the growing popularity of ‘pop-up’ restaurants as a promotional tool, many companies are finding that more planning is required than they initially realised, warns PKL.

In all cases the planning, project management and implementation of the temporary kitchen facilities are the key to success,” notes PKL’s Lee Vines. “There are lots of things to consider when ‘popping up’ a restaurant, ranging from regulatory compliance and availability of services through to choice of venues and use of creative advertising. That’s why we have launched a website (www.popup-restaurants.com) dedicated to the planning and implementation of these temporary venues,” he added.

PKL has supplied pop-up kitchens to many such projects. These include Westfield Stratford City’s Studio East Dining Pavilion, Innocent Smoothie’s ‘Five for Five’ promotion, the Bloomsbury ‘Big Top’ and Jason Atherton’s two-day restaurant at the London Restaurant Festival which raised funds for the homeless. In each case, the requirements have been specific to the location, requiring a tailored solution that relies heavily on expertise and experience.

“By their very nature pop-up restaurants can be set up almost anywhere and at any time, their uses ranging from providing short-term facilities during peak seasons to promoting a new venue or product. So it’s inevitable that there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach. It really is a matter of calling on specialist assistance to evaluate each project in minute detail and ensure nothing is overlooked,” Lee Vines concluded.

More information about pop-up restaurants can be found at www.popup-restaurants.com.

PKL Group is the UK’s leading supplier of temporary kitchens and catering equipment for hire. We have over 900 portable kitchen units and 9,000 items of catering equipment immediately available for hire to maintain foodservice provision during events, refurbishments and emergencies.