A decade of growth is to be marked with an investment in excess of £1.5 million in a renovation of Green & Fortune’s popular and successful café, restaurant, bar, terrace and private events spaces at Kings Place, London.
October 2018 marks the tenth anniversary of both Kings Place and Green & Fortune. This milestone has prompted Green & Fortune to look forward and reinvest in the business, both building on the success of the last decade and affirming its presence in London’s hospitality and events scene. With the opening of Kings Place in 2008, John Nugent created Green & Fortune, encompassing Rotunda Bar and Restaurant, the Green & Fortune Café and Kings Place Events. Ten years later, the business has grown significantly with a team of almost 190 people and an annual turnover in excess of £12.5 million. Green & Fortune is a vibrant and growing business, evolving alongside the broader King’s Cross developments and beyond. The renovation of all the Green & Fortune entities at Kings Place will take place over the summer, ready for a re-opening before the 10th birthday celebrations.
Rotunda will close on 27 July to fully reopen in mid-September 2018. Collaborating with Design LSM, the redesign of Rotunda Bar and Restaurant will emphasise two stand-out features - the restaurant’s ‘gate-toplate’ ethos and the extensive terrace overlooking Regent’s Canal.
Significant changes include an open-to view kitchen (relocated from the lower level of the building), a large meat-ageing cabinet in the restaurant, a chef’s counter, and a semi-enclosed terrace space with heaters, enabling the area to be used year-round. The refurbishment will further enhance the bar, elevate the private dining space, and revamp the terrace garden, which is tended by King’s Cross-based charity Global Generation.
The modern British-styled Rotunda restaurant focuses on informal dining with beef and lamb from its own farm in Northumberland at the heart of the menus. Green & Fortune hang, age and butcher the meat onsite, giving the chefs not only a reliable supply source, but also enabling them to creatively engage in ‘nose to tail’ dish offerings.
Alongside Rotunda, Kings Place Events’ Battlebridge Room - the large canal-side events space used for meetings, product launches, weddings, summer and Christmas parties - will also see a restyling, to include a new internal bar, a built-in dance floor, and increased lighting options built into the space. Linda Turner of Inature will oversee the project, as well as redesigning the Green & Fortune Café, located in the atrium area of Kings Place, which will close on 17 August for three weeks.
“So much has changed in King’s Cross in recent years, and I am very proud that we were the early adopters of the area. Ten years into any business is a time for reflection and future planning,” explained John Nugent. “We launched against a pretty difficult backdrop back in 2008 - recessionary pressures, a new area yet to emerge from its past and a business proposition not previously considered in King’s Cross. Today we look forward to further growing the business. All our spaces at Kings Place will be transformed, with new menus and well-crafted drinks offerings as we continue to deliver great hospitality.”
When visionary property developer and arts supporter Peter Millican conceived Kings Place, the vicinity around King’s Cross and St Pancras stations was considered to be a risky, ‘no go’ area by many. His vision a decade ago for a multi-faceted arts complex with concert halls, art galleries, offices, restaurant, bar and events spaces will mark the decade anniversary in October 2018. The naysayers of 2008 cannot help but be impressed by the enduring cultural programme and the dynamic food and drink offering with Green & Fortune, who co-partnered the Kings Place project from inception.
Ticking many dining and drinking entertainment boxes, Rotunda Bar and Restaurant is open daily, and is a thriving hub in the area as well as a go-to destination, known for its focus on British cuisine. The enviable waterside location and terrace also make it one of London’s best spots for alfresco drinks and parties.
Full details of the new interior design, menus and bar offering will be available from early September 2018.
