There is such a thing as a free lunch
Ivor Wilkins grew up and learnt his street-smarts in West London where he would open up pop-ups at Carnival, and since those crazy days around the Portobello Road area he has been fine-tuning his event and hospitality skills at some of the capital’s most famous places, writes Michael Holland.
At Mean Fiddler Group he looked after 18 venues, including The Jazz Café and Borderline before moving over to Live Nation. From there he was head-hunted to become a director at Mama & Co and was directly responsible for the inception and creation of their festival bar business. His reach now extended right across London and the UK where his touch was felt not just at top venues and major festivals but also within the music industry, managing Primal Scream at one point in his extensive career.
Eight years ago, with his son Michael and Financial Director Mark Allen, Ivor created Barserve Co that has already become a leading event and festivals bar company, with bars at Vinegar Yard near London Bridge, and Bussey Rooftop in Peckham where Ivor emphasises that they recruit locally. They are also wholly responsible for the design, conception and delivery of the prestigious Summer By The River and Winter By The River projects that operate between London Bridge and Tower Bridge on the land owned by More London.
Which is where I found Mr Wilkins quietly monitoring the launch of the summer season, and where I wanted to find out more about the free community lunches he offers to local charities.
The lunches take place in their two new bars situated close to Tower Bridge: Riverside Terrace – The Scoop Bar and Riverside Pavilion – The Pier Bar on Monday-Wednesday from June until August 2024 for 20 people each time and includes a lunch and a drink.
The Moroccan-flavoured pop-up bars are recycled after use and planting is given away to local community garden projects. ‘Some of the plants are still at the South Dock Marina Boatyard in Rotherhithe, who benefited from this initiative last year,’ his PR informed me.
Ivor says: ‘The idea is simple, give something back to the local community. Community groups have used these dinners as a chance to reward volunteers, celebrate success or just as a fun gathering for regulars and members of their group. The free lunch and drinks were a great success last year with over a hundred local people attending, alongside local businesses and tourists, and we hope that more groups join us this year.’
I also found out that for Summer By the River, Barserve will donate 5 pence from every drink to a chosen charity and this year it is BOST – Bankside Open Spaces Trust.
Riverside Terrace and Pier Bar – part of Summer By the River 2024 – are open until August.
If you have a community group or charity that would like to enjoy this lunch opportunity, please contact Luigia Minichiello (she/her) – luigiahushpr@gmail.com.
