Lockdown diaries: Shaftesbury’s Julia Wilkinson

Julia Wilkinson is group restaurant strategy executive at Shaftesbury. She shares a day in the West End, from a socially distanced rooftop juice in Golden Square to a stroll through Chinatown’s pavement dining set-up. My day starts around 6am, when I am the first up in our household, bar Scooby the cockapoo who is waiting by the back door, primed to chase off an unsuspecting squirrel. I have a quick coffee while I catch up on the news and mentally plan my day. While I am now going back to the West End regularly, my typical working days at Shaftesbury are still very different to those pre-lockdown. This all starts with my commute into Waterloo, which is currently stress-free, spotlessly clean and involves a wide choice of seats – sadly a luxury I hope won’t last for much longer. From Waterloo I enjoy the walk to the office in Carnaby through Covent Garden and Soho, and it’s reassuring to see the West End coming back to life again week by week. The majority of Shaftesbury’s 300 hospitality tenants consists of small and independent operators, a number of which I have worked with for many years. I’ve seen their businesses grow, but with just one or a small number of West End sites, they have faced significant challenges during the pandemic. Now, we are working closely to support their re-openings, as people come back to work and resume their normal routines and spending habits. I can see this change at Shaftesbury too, in our strategy and operations Teams call at 10am. The balance is shifting between those dialling in from home and those socially distancing around the boardroom table. The meetings have evolved from lockdown management priorities into our village re-opening strategy, with updates and feedback from tenants and wider stakeholders including Westminster and Camden councils. We have also been working closely with both councils to promote flexible licensing and planning policies during the recovery period, along with essential measures to support our operators while they rebuild their businesses. Next, I have a catch-up with the Seven Dials team to run through current restaurant schemes, potential lettings and tenant discussions. At the start of lockdown we committed to speaking directly with all our commercial tenants, to agree financial support where needed, and to assist with practical challenges. By 12.30pm I’m ready for an early lunch. Despite making the most of Island Poke’s make-it-at-home kits, I have been craving the real thing and head out to Kingly Street for a poke bowl fix. But I’ve already left it too late and the infamous queue has returned. I decide not to wait and indulge with a box of Kaleido salad rolls instead. I don’t have time for a sit-down lunch today but it’s brilliant to see Kingly Street and Kingly Court buzzing with customers. Takeaways and deliveries have been limited due to the relatively low residential population in the West End. So instead, many of our tenants have diversified with cook-at-home kits and online retailing. Others held live online workshops, supported via our own  #virtualvillages campaign for Chinatown, Seven Dials and Carnaby that temporarily turned our physical destinations into virtual ones. Today, we are definitely seeing an increase in visitors returning to the restaurants that they have missed during lockdown and making the most of being able to book tables that previously didn’t take small group reservations, such as Dishoom. In the afternoon I have some desk time and catch-up meetings with a couple of tenants in person. As we are not hosting meetings in the office yet, a socially-distanced juice on the sunny terrace of one of our newest restaurants, Folie on Golden Square, is perfect. Before leaving I quickly check my diary for tomorrow. I have presentations scheduled with two new operators that are interested in sites we are marketing across the portfolio. One is an Asian small plates concept seeking a pop-up site in Chinatown, and could be a good fit for a unit where we are working up a scheme that will take 18 months to get on site. The other is an escape room operator looking for relatively small walk-up units in close proximity to restaurants and bars, which could be an interesting new experiential addition to one of our villages. On the walk back to Waterloo I pass through Chinatown to treat myself to a pork bun from Bun House on Lisle Street and to see how the early evening is beginning to shape up. Arguably the most valuable initiative of our reopening strategy has been working with the councils to create temporary pedestrianised and pavement dining areas across all of our villages, helping visitors to move safely around the West End. This has also allowed many of our small restaurants to adapt to social distancing restrictions, which in many instances has made the difference between being able to re-open or not. In Gerrard Street many of the restaurants have embraced the opportunity to have pavement dining for the first time, and the tables are fast filling up with diners and an array of regional Chinese cuisines. In a couple of weeks we will also have a dedicated communal dining area in Newport Place to support those restaurants that have less outside space, including our cluster of bubble tea, Asian cheesecake and frozen treat operators in Newport Court, known locally as “Dessert Bar Alley”. In the evening, I clear my head throwing a ball for Scooby in a local park, while one of my daughters has her weekly football training session. Once home, I like to cook as my way to unwind in the evening, before relaxing in front of the Celebrity Masterchef final with my husband, supper and a large G&T. Image supplied by PR