Fresh from winning the Excellence in Training Award again at the recent Excellence in Housewares Awards, Borough Kitchen is set to expand. The retailer will open its fourth location at Islington Square this autumn. The venue is a new premium retail and leisure destination on Upper Street housing over 30 shops, restaurants and services. Borough Kitchen’s new store will features its full product range as well as its most central Cook School.
The Islington store will also be the hub of Borough Kitchen’s rapidly growing online platform, interior design programme (working with interior designers and architects), and marketing initiatives.
The retailer is due to open a pop-up location on the Boulevard in November, moving to its permanent store in the North Arcade in early 2020. According to Borough Kitchen, the new location will help it to champion its wide range of partner brands (including those from France, Japan, the US, Italy and local artisans) ‘in a more lively and engaging way.’
The Cook School prides itself on teaching skills-based lessons that help students gain ‘a more intuitive understanding of cooking, rather than just recipes’. The new location will continue to focus on the signature, intimate 10-person classes, but has the ability to hold up to 20 guests for private parties, especially cookbook launches and corporate events targeted at urban professionals. Students in the Cook School learn using the knives, pans, and other products sold in the stores.
“As an Islington local, I’m thrilled to bring the Borough Kitchen brand closer to home,” comments co-founder David Caldana. Co- founder Justin Kowbel adds: “Given we already have strong existing customer relationships in the area, we’re excited to better serve Islington and east London from this new home. Plus, Islington hosts some of my favourite restaurants, bars, and shops.”
Borough Kitchen’s first store opened in London’s historic Borough Market in 2013, followed by Hampstead – with the first Cook School – in 2015, and Chiswick (and second Cook School) in 2016.
Borough Kitchen is partnering with craft kitchen manufacturer Rencraft to design two kitchens for the new Islington store. One is for the Cook School, while the second kitchen is exclusively for product testing and demonstrations that will vastly amplify marketing and content creation capabilities for the retailer.
Gaggenau, the luxury home appliance specialist will also equipping the new kitchens. Borough Kitchen has been working with London-based retail design agency And-Then Studio to evolve the signature aesthetic of its other stores and refine this for the Islington Square branch.
Borough Kitchen’s many awards to date include The Excellence in Housewares Awards’ Most Promising Newcomer, Excellence in Retail Display (Independent) and Excellence in Retail Training Awards, plus the UK gia (Global Innovation Award) and top international accolade of gia Global Honoree. The retailer’s leading reputation for kitchenware sales has been noted by consumer titles such as Monocle, Elle Décor, Esquire, House and Garden, The Sunday Times, Observer and Financial Times.
The retailer is currently recruiting for all positions at the new Islington store, see boroughkitchen.com/careers
Top: An impression of Borough Kitchen’s new space in North Arcade, Islington Square. Image is courtesy of And-Then Studio.
