Shaftesbury has announced that Chinatown London will be transformed into an open air food destination as part of the #LoveChinatown campaign to support tenants, celebrate diversity, and safely welcome people back to Chinatown.
Operators will be able to take advantage of additional seating in Newport Place creating an extra 150 covers, alongside the alfresco dining many restaurants are providing along the pedestrianised streets. The new seating will be available from Monday 10 August, 12pm until 8pm. The benches have been decorated by paper-cutting artist, Samantha Quinn, featuring a vibrant koi carp and lotus flower design.
Later in the month and for a limited-time, participating restaurants will be offering an eco-friendly and biodegradable #LoveChinatown “Take-Put” box on selected dishes. Adapting the traditional take-out box, the new container folds out into a makeshift plate that can allow flexibility when dining.
In partnership with the London Chinatown Chinese Association (LCCA), Chinatown London’s trademark red lanterns will also be replaced with rows of special multi-coloured lanterns. Coinciding with the hanging of the lanterns, a digital screen will pop-up at 13 Newport Place where visitors can share messages of goodwill to loved ones or their favourite Chinatown London restaurant each week.
The campaign has evolved from a programme of digital initiatives to create virtual villages providing support for consumers, residents and operators throughout coronavirus when they were unable to visit in person. The #LoveChinatown campaign is a natural step in creating an omnichannel presence blending activities both physically and digitally.
Karen Baines, Head of Group Marketing and Communications at Shaftesbury, said, “As our visitors start to return, the #LoveChinatown campaign will help to continue to support our restaurants, celebrate the diversity of Chinatown’s offering and inspire people to revisit safely.
:London is resilient and throughout the pandemic our restaurateurs have been adapting, from providing more deliveries, developing meal kits, expanding their apps and honing menus to ensure less waste and more sustainability.
'We want to reflect this resilience; these new initiatives complement our move to an omnichannel Chinatown keeping people connected whether digitally or physically. We hope to safely welcome many more people back soon.”
Chu Ting Tang OBE, Chairman of the LCCA, added, “We are delighted to see the community of Chinatown come together. As the thousands of red lanterns transform to multi-coloured lanterns, guiding people through the streets of this special place, we welcome Londoners back to Chinatown to support the local community and businesses.”
Martin Ma, General Manager of JinLi, said, “Chinatown London is very much about community, we have a very large Chinese student customer base, many haven’t been able to get back to Asia and they see us as a home away from home.
'Throughout the lockdown our takeaway business has grown and we’ve reached many new customers. But having reopened our business, the extra covers Shaftesbury has provided with this outdoor space will enable us to facilitate a safe place for our customers to meet and have some culinary home comforts.”
To ensure the safety of visitors, workers and residents, Shaftesbury is encouraging visitors to adopt social distancing measures, floor markings have been installed in both Mandarin and English, and hand sanitisation points have been installed throughout Chinatown London.