Rupert Ellwood is managing director of Vinopolis, the wine-tasting venue near London Bridge, which has recently been granted planning permission to extend its offer by creating a new restaurant and shopping boulevard. He spoke to Kerstin Kühn
Caterer What's Vinopolis all about?
Rupert Ellwood Vinopolis is essentially a wine‑tasting destination located in a two-acre stretch of railway arches opposite Borough Market near London Bridge. We welcome around 600,000 visitors per year and offer a variety of tasting events, with wines from across the world as well as Champagne, whisky, gin and rum tastings. We have eight different-sized meeting rooms catering for corporate events for up to 1,000 people, as well as four dining outlets, including a microbrewery, wine bar, cocktail bar and an Italian restaurant, which is owned by Claudio Pulze.
Caterer What's new at Vinopolis?
Rupert Ellwood We will celebrate our 10th anniversary this year and are launching a new cookery academy. It will be mainly aimed at the corporate market for team-building days but we will also offer courses to consumers on weekends. We'll be launching the cookery academy next month with a workshop on how to make Easter eggs.
Caterer Tell us about the new project for which you've just gained planning permission.
Rupert Ellwood Adjacent to our property are three derelict railway arches, and we will extend Vinopolis into them. We're essentially creating a new street, with a walkway between Park Street and Brew Wharf. The development will include an 80-seat restaurant at one end as well as a number of retail units and a bakery that will service the restaurants in the local area.
Caterer Did you have difficulty getting planning permission?
Rupert Ellwood We have been consulting with local residents and planning officers on this project since 2006. We initially faced some resistance from locals, but we have worked to address residents' concerns about noise, which included us having moved the restaurant to the back of the development. The arches are currently derelict, so converting them is a great example of a development that makes good use of a brownfield site. We'll also be creating 55 new jobs, many of whom will be recruited locally.
Caterer What will the restaurant be like?
Rupert Ellwood We haven't decided on exactly what the concept of the restaurant will be and are looking for an operator to become our partner, so at this stage we're open to suggestions. But what I can say is that it won't be a fast-food outlet with high volume and quick turnaround but, rather, a venue that will complement existing restaurants in the area such as Roast or Black & Blue. What we are trying to achieve with this whole development is something that is the right thing for the area, and that applies to the restaurant as well as the retail offering. We will hand-pick the merchants to ensure this.