7 Quick Questions About Community with London’s KERB

1. Why is community important for hospitality businesses?

KERB’s mission is to create opportunity and joy, from the KERB up!

Almost 12 years ago, we kicked off with a single pop-up market on a King’s Cross building site. KERB’s mission was to disrupt the bland, boring lunch lives of Londoners. Since then, we’ve developed a community of ambitious, flavour-forward entrepreneurs, running colourful and creative pop-up markets and events across the city – and KERB is now also present in Berlin and in the process of opening in San Francisco! We are about inclusivity, transparency and the power of community – without our 150+ strong street food members, we couldn’t do any of it. 

2.  Conversely, what role do restaurants and other food spaces play in local communities?

Food spaces such as food halls and markets can play a pivotal role in local communities. KERB’s are designed to be vibrant hubs where people can gather, connect and enjoy diverse culinary dishes from all over the world. Food is a universal language that brings people together, no matter what their background! 

We don't just offer a place to eat and bring people together. We create spaces that cultivate community and foster the growth of small independent businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs within our ecosystem. 

Seven Dials Market opened in 2019 and has become a cornerstone of the local community and our ecosystem, hosting year-round, seven-day-a-week operations for 20 resident KERB members and welcoming over 30,000 guests every week. It’s a space for small businesses to accelerate, grow and thrive.

 

This year alone, we've welcomed nine new traders to Seven Dials Market, four of whom have progressed from our free inKERBator programme, which supports and nurtures new talent from the KERB up!

Through our food halls and other venues, like the National Theatre, we aim to support the hospitality community and those trying to break into it. How? Through our social enterprise, KERB+, we provide individuals with opportunities into paid employment. We run ‘Coaching for Work’ programmes and provide free coaching and mentorship as well as paid work experience to individuals referred to us by our impact partners.

Ultimately, KERB's mission is to foster new talent and create opportunities for small businesses to develop and grow. Our food halls and markets are more than just places to eat; they are dynamic community spaces that celebrate food, culture and entrepreneurship.

3. How have you seen food work as a tool for building social connection in your neighbourhoods?

Our membership base is made up of over 150 independent street food businesses, and it’s a thriving community of its own. 

We work hard to provide spaces and places for our membership to trade and meet, swap ideas and advice as well as with the practical elements of trading such as equipment and staffing needs. It never fails to amaze me how our members stand up for and support each other.

 

On a personal note, I love hearing about and visiting social enterprise and social entrepreneurship initiatives centred around food. When KERB’s dedicated social enterprise, KERB+, launched last year we had 12 official impact partners. One year later, we’re connected to another 16!

This allows us to build incredible partnerships and programmes to benefit the hospitality community. For example, we work with The Entrepreneurial Refugee Network (TERN) on their Food Power Programme. TERN enables refugees to thrive through the power of their own ideas, while the Food Power Programme coaches aspiring entrepreneurs as they prepare to launch their own food businesses. It’s one of my favourite programmes and a pleasure to be involved with; it’s an utter joy to see participants cook and share their food and culture with such pride and passion.

Other local favourites of mine are Made in Hackney and The Dusty Knuckle, respectively working to address food deprivation and youth unemployment – really inspiring!

4. What does the community bring to KERB, and vice versa? 

The community brings energy, diversity and fresh ideas to KERB, making our food markets vibrant and dynamic places. This mix of talent and support helps us create an exciting food scene that everyone can enjoy – 40% of our members are from outside of the UK, bringing diverse flavours and dishes to the KERB.

In return, KERB supports the community by tackling important social issues like youth unemployment, homelessness, through-the-gate services and refugee support through the work of KERB+. 

Our free inKERBator programme helps early-stage food businesses to get started and succeed, with a 93% success rate for graduates. We also work with impact partners to provide our ‘Coaching for Work’ and ‘Coaching for Business’ programmes where we train, mentor and create opportunities for people facing barriers to entry in hospitality. This year, KERB+ has provided over 1,200 hours of free one-to-one coaching. 

 

By helping individuals overcome barriers and succeed in the food industry, KERB not only benefits the community but also sets an industry standard for others to follow. KERB and the community go hand in hand, growing and thriving together.

5. What do you see as the biggest obstacles for F&B businesses when it comes to building community relationships?

• Time and resources. Connecting with the local community needs dedicated resources, which means money! We are very lucky to have a dedicated coaching team (of which I'm proud to be a part). As a team, our time is spent building engagement with our impact partners and their service users to help spread the word about our programmes and in turn drive interest and registration. In the past year alone, we have worked with over 260 referrals, coaching and mentoring them into the hospitality industry. We also have an advisory board, made up of representatives from impact partners across our four areas of need, which meets regularly to discuss how we can continue to enhance and improve KERB’s programmes.
• Accessibility. Building community relationships means speaking to those that are often the hardest to reach. Again, having a dedicated resource here is key, but also think about accessibility, offering opportunities to engage both online and in person.
• Skills and knowledge. It’s important to recognise the work that needs to go into supporting individuals with not just the hard skills. but also the soft skills that they will need to nurture and develop to thrive in the hospitality sector. As coaches, we spend a lot of time working on these, helping our mentees to have more confidence and motivation and to develop a routine and their social skills.

6. Can you name five actions that restaurants can take to get more involved in their communities?

1. Community values. Establish your values right at the start and embed them into your brand and everything you do.
2. Think seasonal and local. Where possible, create opportunities for local makers and creators. Care about where your food and produce comes from.
3. Dedicate resources. Embed your community engagement strategy into your business, hiring in dedicated resources to make it happen.
4. Pay and rewards. Be a London or national minimum wage employer to attract and retain the best local talent. 
5. Get in on the impact. By partnering with KERB on our coaching for work programme, you not only get access to untapped, skilled talent from under-represented groups and the opportunity to build a committed workforce, but will also foster inclusivity and connect with individuals and impact partners in our identified areas of need.

7. Do you have any advice for how newly-opened food businesses can start to lay down roots in their communities?

I’m a big fan of coaching, learning and development. I don’t think it’s possible to deliver a community engagement strategy unless the above values and actions are embedded into your company culture – so start from within. 

Train your staff on DEI practices, be an ally, and ensure you can provide the support needed to not only create opportunities for employment and entrepreneurship, but also to help and grow each individual so that they can thrive.

If you’re interested in getting in on KERB’s impact, you can reach out to Lisa Donohue at Lisa@KERBfood.com. Learn more about how restaurants and other food businesses can build strong community networks here, or read how 'Support The Community' fits into the Food Made Good Framework here.