John Lewis launches new café and restaurant concept
John Lewis is launching a new own brand café and restaurant concept as part of an £800 million multi-year investment in its brand, stores and customer experience.
With the first refurbished spaces reopening from this month, Platter John Lewis will replace the retailer’s long-standing The Place To Eat brand across 32 cafés.
Subscribe to TRBThe refurbishment work has started in three John Lewis stores in Chichester, Reading and Oxford Street. The restaurant at the latter will reopen in early August as the flagship Platter John Lewis after a 13-week transformation. The retailer said the scale will vary by shop, with Oxford Street receiving the most extensive refurbishment.
John Lewis currently has 62 cafés and restaurants across the store estate, with hospitality accounting for more than 20% of in-store transactions and sales growing by nearly 10% over the past year. All 32 cafés will be refurbished and rebranded by the end of 2027 as the retailer looks to give customers more reasons to visit and spend time in its shops.
Katie Papakonstantinou, director of services and hospitality for John Lewis, said: “Customers are spending more time in our shops, and food and drink is an increasingly important part of that experience. Platter John Lewis will give customers a more modern, welcoming place to pause, meet and enjoy something delicious while they shop.
“This is an exciting investment in our hospitality offer and an important part of how we’re making John Lewis shops even better places to visit. We’re pleased to get the first refurbishments underway and look forward to opening our flagship at Oxford Street this summer.”
John Lewis has partnered with Benugo to transform and operate the new restaurants. The partnership builds on an existing ten-year relationship with the hospitality specialist, which already runs cafés under its own name in 10 John Lewis shops.
Platter John Lewis will sit alongside the retailer’s wider hospitality offer, which includes Benugo, Ori cafés, Huffkins tea rooms, Jamie Oliver Cafe and Kamakura at Oxford Street.
