12/03/2024
Some say the best lessons are learned over Tacos 🌮. We would have to agree.
When we opened Arcade Food Hall, each brand had its own kitchen. Keen to increase the diversity of offer and spend per head, we decided to explore the multi-cuisine kitchen.
Looking at the sales mix, we kept only the most popular dishes from two brands, and then merged them to be executed by a single team, redesigning the workflow of the kitchen and providing the necessary training.
We were introduced to Sam and Michelle of Sonora, tortilla royalty from Hackney’s Netil Market. We worked together to build Mexa, a concise Mexican food hall brand featuring tacos, quesadillas, ceviche, and snacks.
We got to work preparing the space for the arrival of Mexa, kitchen design, reworking of gas and electrical, sourcing crockery, branded collateral and signage, procurement & recipe specs, updating the tech, and training the team.
An Indonesian kitchen in another life, we transformed the food cart we’d fought so hard to integrate into the countertop, into one with a much more Mexican vibe. The team who were also previously pounding fresh sambal and frying crispy duck and tofu were now making fresh salsas, crushing guac and frying tortillas.
This exercise saw an overall increase in food revenue across the food hall by adding a new brand, and paved the way for more dynamic thinking with our approach to kitchen design.
