The Yards unveils food operators for spring/summer season

Longmartin Properties Ltd, a joint venture between Shaftesbury and the Mercers’ Company, has unveiled a series of food operators that will be present in The Yards, Covent Garden, throughout the spring and summer.

The shopping centre will host Baklava ice cream sandwiches and a rotating restaurant food truck, as well as local artwork trails.

Persian-inspired ice cream brand, Darlish, will be returning to The Yards for the third time, and the store will be open from early May until October. It will offer an exclusive new dish – the Faloodeh – a traditional Iranian cold dessert. 

Over the summer months, The Yards will also be home to a dedicated Piaggio food truck for exclusive use by existing restaurant tenants within the destination. Each will take a short residency to create a rotating offering of takeaway street food and will benefit from The Yards’ alfresco community.

Additionally, Covent Garden and The Yards have been selected by Diageo, maker of Guinness, as a home for ‘Guinness at Old Brewer’s Yard’, comprising a £73m investment. Plans include a new microbrewery and culture hub for the capital, which will open in autumn 2023.

Laura Dawson, founder of Darlish, said: “We had hugely successful trading periods during our previous summer of residencies within The Yards and are always eager to return each summer. This exclusive space provides a unique oasis from the hustle and bustle of the capital plus all the footfall one would expect from the West End.” 

Simon Taylor, property director at the Mercers’ Company, added: “From returning operators to big-brands, The Yards has made a name for itself as the place to be, both as an F&B hub to explore and a retail destination to pursue.”