23rd February 2019

Thomasons help Big Mumma bring ooh la la to London!

The modern restaurant is more than just a place to eat and socialise. It should be individual (even if it’s a chain), photogenic and offer spaces for dining scenarios from intimate dinning to big parties. An open kitchen, visible to curious diners, is also a welcome addition. So when Parisian restaurant group Big Mamma started making plans for its first UK venue, it had a number of particular design stipulations to ensure it met these criteria and would make its mark on the Shoreditch scene.

To help bring these requirements to life, which included the alteration works for both the ground floor and basement restaurant, Thomasons was appointed as structural engineers.

Its work included moving a cast iron column in the basement, which supported both the ground floor structure and the upper floor residential apartment, to accommodate the ebb and flow of the kitchen staff. Thomasons coordinated and supervised the temporary jacking works, cutting of existing steelwork and installation of the new steelwork – all while the upper 3 storeys remained occupied.

Meanwhile on the ground floor, an aesthetic taste for potted plants meant the floor needed to be strengthened significantly.

Gloria opened on 22nd February, following a private launch event, attended by Thomasons. The new restaurant is comprised of an open kitchen, dining room, private dining space and facilities, all unique and yet perfectly in harmony with one another.

The next Big Mamma restaurant in the UK has just started construction and is set to open later this year in Rathbone Place, Fitzrovia.

To read more about Thomasons’ experience in the leisure sector, click here.