Here at Rosa’s we love talking food. But it gets a bit boring if all we talk about is our own.
Once in a while, we thought we would open the blog up a bit and therefore start writing about other people’s businesses. I’ve come across two recently which I really like the sound of.
The first one I read about in Time Out earlier this month. A brilliant idea called The People’s Supermarket in Bloomsbury, Central London. Here’s what they had to say about the place,
“Fighting off Tesco for a site in one of London’s most independently spirited neighbourhoods, The People’s Supermarket is a project close to the heart of celeb chef Arthur Potts-Dawson and ex-Marks & Spencer executive Kate Wickes-Bull.
The duo have rallied the local community into buying into the scheme – literally. Although anyone can shop at the store, full membership (which scores you a 10 per cent discount and a say in how the shop is run) will cost you £25 and four hours per month working in the store.
What you get is fresh, locally sourced (when possible) supermarket fare, dirt cheap and airfreight free; new jobs for locals; and all profits going back into the business”.
If you would like to check it out here’s the address: The People’s Supermarket, 72-78 Lamb’s Conduit St, WC1N 3LP. You can visit their website here.
Interesting food business number 2 is a US-based restaurant chain named Panera. They’ve adopted an honour-based approach to selling food. Once you finish, they will tell you the recommended price for your meal, but it is up to you if you want to pay that, a bit more, or less. According to a recent Economist article,
“About 65% pay the recommended amount. The remainder are roughly divided between over-payers and those who pay less or nothing”.
What I found most interesting about the article is that they don’t offer this honour-based system at all their restaurants. They will not, for example, be offering it at their new New York City location. They obviously don’t think New Yorkers would end up paying much. Wonder if they would offer it to Londoners? Something to chew on perhaps?
Lastly, if you come across any interesting food-related businesses please let us know about them and I’ll do my best to feature them here on our blog.