The brief
Open a third site without losing what made the first two work
Antipodea moved easily from a laid-back daytime café to a lively evening restaurant, with an ingredient-led menu and warm, unfussy hospitality.
Quality control was built into the brand. An in-house bakery, patisserie and butchery, and a herb garden, meant much of what reached the plate was made on site.
With restaurants already trading in Kew and Putney, the Richmond opening at 30 Hill Street had to deliver the same experience across three distinct areas: a relaxed dining space, a central bar and a more formal dining room.
What we did
Opening support, from plan to first service
We focused on operational planning, pre-opening readiness and the successful delivery of the new restaurant.
Operational planning
How the restaurant would run day to day across its three areas, from service flow to the structure of the team.
Kitchen and production
Planning around the robata grill, pizza oven and in-house butchery, so the kitchen could deliver the menu consistently from the first service.
Pre-opening readiness
The critical path to opening: suppliers, systems, training and the checks that make sure nothing is left to chance.
Team preparation
Preparing the team to deliver Antipodea’s warm, informal service from day one.
Standards across sites
Making sure Richmond delivered the same brand experience as Kew and Putney, while making the most of its own space.
Launch
Hands-on support through to the opening in December 2017, so the team started as it meant to go on.
I have had the pleasure of working with Paul and his team across several restaurant concepts over many years. His operational knowledge, commercial understanding and ability to take a concept from the initial idea through to opening have made him an invaluable partner.
Jason Wells, founder, Wells Group
The result
Richmond joins Kew and Putney
Antipodea Richmond opened in December 2017 with 50 covers across its three areas, in a space designed by Caulder Moore.
The relationship continued well beyond the opening: by 2018 Paul was acting chief executive of the Jason Wells Group. Find out more about our F&B operations support.
3rd
Antipodea restaurant, after Kew and Putney
50
Covers across three areas
Dec 2017
Opening on Hill Street, Richmond
