All Aboard!

Room on top! People are LOVING the double decker bus on our British Street Food road trip. Taking street food ‘on tour’ is the latest Big Idea, and this time we’re taking it to retail parks. Makes sense — street food is young, cool, and – served out of customised vans, trucks and trailers – exciting. But it’s not just for the cool kids any more. That’s why British Land —  the largest listed retail landlord in the UK, with locations that attract over 300 million visits each year – want in. And check out the smiling faces on the bus at Teesside Shopping Park last weekend

In a bold new venture, they have asked British Street Food to recruit the very best traders for the Eats From The Street roadshow. Edinburgh and Teesside have been a great success, and this weekend it’s Glasgow (November 29-30). We’ll bring the bunting, the fairy lights and the festoons. We’ve got patio heaters, some crayons for the kids, and the converted bus for a bit of a sit-down if the weather turns nippy. It’ll be fun. You just bring yourselves.

Retail parks don’t have a reputation for food. Coffee maybe, and a doughnut shop with sandwiches. But in an effort to provide their customers with more of “an experience”, and increase the time they spend on site, it makes sense to try and change that. And at Glasgow, Edinburgh, Teesside and Chester they’ve certainly got the space. If this pilot scheme works, British Land will be able to feed their customers in a different – and flexible — way. Win win.

Joining us on the journey will be everyone from Patty Smiths to the winner of Best Main Dish at the British Street Food Awards, Fish&. Plus we’re signing up the new talent as we go. Details of each stage of the journey as and when we get it, but this weekend we’ve got Babu, plus Fuel Coffee, Zoete Koek and Breaking Bread. All aboard!