Street food market operator Blend Family plans to open its first London food hall at TBC.London, a new net zero in operation workspace next to Tower Bridge, in 2025.
Blend Family has agreed a lease with developer FORE Partnership and TBC.London’s majority owner KKR to occupy 16,000 sq ft on the ground floor of the building. It will bring in 13 food partners serving a variety of authentic street food from across the globe.
TBC.London, a 110,000sq ft office development, is a highly sustainable retrofit of an existing building on the south bank of the River Thames. FORE and KKR recently announced FTSE 100-listed tech business, Sage, and Allfunds, a leading global platform for the funds industry, as the first occupiers, ahead of the building’s completion this winter.
Blend Family currently operates three other food halls in the UK. These include Cambridge Street Collective and Cutlery Works in Sheffield, and Kargo MKT in Manchester. Cambridge Street Collective recently won ‘Best Food Hall’ at the British Street Food Awards 2024.
With social responsibility a core value of its business, Blend Family puts its food partners at the centre of its mission to promote independent and entrepreneurial chefs and to create vibrant cultural hubs for the community. Currently, Blend Family works with over 70 different partners with a model that nurtures food start-ups by providing a platform for local talent and a pathway for growth, smoothing out the process of getting their start in the industry and enabling them to focus on growing their brand.
Matt Bigland, CEO of Blend Family, said: “Our food halls offer guests a trip around the globe one dish at a time. In each of our spaces, we create a diverse and vibrant community hub. We are looking forward to welcoming people in and are so excited to be bringing this experience to such an iconic London location, next to Tower Bridge. We can’t wait to contribute to TBC.London’s mission, to strengthen ties within the neighbourhood.”
Basil Demeroutis, managing partner at FORE, added: “We love Blend Family’s focus on social responsibility and community, which is highly aligned with the vision and values of TBC.London. The new food hall will be a fantastic space for visitors from the surrounding community and the building’s occupiers. With variety and vibrancy, there’ll be plenty of tasty, fresh options on offer in one of London’s healthiest buildings.”
TBC.London is being transformed by FORE to become 100% electric and net zero carbon in operation. FORE has worked closely with Blend Family to ensure that all kitchens run solely on electricity, with no need for gas cooking. The development is targeting EPC A, BREEAM Outstanding and a NABERS Design for Performance score of 5.0 stars.
TBC.London is also targeting WELL Platinum, the highest rating under the healthy building certification programme, and has already achieved a Platinum ActiveScore rating. Premium cycling and changing facilities are accessed via a dedicated entrance. All tenants of the building will have direct access to outdoor space through balconies and a spectacular rooftop terrace with river views.
Immediately adjacent to the Blend Family food hall, TBC.London will also incorporate an Urban Village Hall on the ground floor, a flexible 3,500 sq ft social and cultural space set up to welcome social enterprises, community groups, schools, and others active in a wide spectrum of challenge areas from education and art to mental health. The Urban Village Hall will be available for the local community to use free of charge.
Bruce Gillingham Pollard and Jamieson Mills advised FORE on the letting to Blend Family. CBRE and RX London are the office leasing agents for TBC.London.
