New restaurant concept Proper to open in London’s Covent Garden

A former geophysicist and a former head of music have set up a new restaurant concept called Proper, which is set to open in London’s Covent Garden soon.

Proper will be part coffee bar, part take-away and part restaurant, and is set to occupy the former Manorom Thai restaurant at 16 Maiden Lane, WC2.

It is the brainchild of foodies Maureen Fulton and Dominic Peel and aims to provide a British take on European café culture.

Thirtytwentyone Limited, the umbrella company for Proper, took an assignment of a 20 year lease on the new site, which runs from December 2011. It is paying a rent of £52,000 per year for the unit which has a 350 ft ground floor and a 425 sq ft basement.

Restaurant Property’s head of sales Mark Calder, who acted for Manorom, said: “This is a very appealing concept with a great offering such as Union hand roasted coffee, artisan bread, gourmet sausages and favourites like Toad-in-the-hole.

“This deal demonstrates the very strong appetite for “theatre land” opportunities. It is perhaps best illustrated by the fact that we were able to acquire a premium for our client, which was close to £100,000.”

Caterer and Hotelkeeper – 23rd September 2013 – [read article]