I could finally cry because we’d risen from the ashes... how I opened a Soho deli in lockdown

This was not the week I had planned. It was meant to be the opening of my restaurant and deli. When I was planning the two spaces, my intention was to “dress up” the deli with something beautiful. With the tasting menus already booked through next year for the restaurant I was concerned it would be overshadowed. This week in lockdown the entire focus was on getting the deli ready as I decided to stick to my original opening date of Wednesday. Suddenly it became the star of the show! This winter will not be the “normal” Christmas crush for hospitality. The team are concerned about the return of the lockdown in the new year and have been discussing delivery options with me. This is unusual for the kitchen team to discuss operations and business ideas with me — it is an indication of the insecurity they are feeling.

On Monday we experienced several delivery mishaps. We were meant to receive our second round of table bases, the first lot having got lost. Clearly the order never made it past the store. A few of our table tops were also stuck somewhere. My grand plan to spend several hours going through all the pictures to decide where to hang them had to be aborted as the frames never arrived.

The day before our opening I got very nervous about the bread delivery due to be left outside at 4am. I sent my assistant on a long journey to the bakery in Tottenham with the key. This way the driver could come into the restaurant and leave the bread. My assistant was trained in the US Air Force, but his phone died on the journey and he struggled to find the bakery without navigation. I thought that’s what they taught you in the Air Force.  

We also scrubbed the floors and surfaces of a very thick layer of dust — and worked out how to play the music which was a huge success! A moment of excitement for me as I got to show off my Soho restaurant playlist and it was as if things were coming together.  

ON our opening day I was so impressed at how wonderful everyone looked in their brand new uniforms. I realised that there had been a lump in my throat since March because I was not willing to cry over what lockdown had done to my business. Watching my girls cheering, laughing and singing, I felt overwhelmed with deep emotions of gratitude. The end of my Soho journey was so sudden because of lockdown that I never fully grieved, but now I could because there was a new beginning. I finally could cry because we have risen from the ashes. I cried because I knew we had made it. We stood outside the main door and took a group picture. I later went into my office to join a call with the Mayor who had invited me to join a London Business Covid forum. I spoke about the challenges of hospitality. Before the new lockdown was announced, I jokingly told a friend of mine that the deli was like a second daughter and I was afraid that it would just be in the shadows of the restaurant. Its birth uncelebrated. But destiny had other plans! I was so excited to see people coming in to order. There were gifts of flowers, cakes, and chocolates. It felt like a housewarming rather than the opening of a business.