SHAFTESBURY LAUNCHES DEDICATED POP-UP INCUBATION SPACE AT CHINATOWN LONDON

 

Shaftesbury has announced the launch of a new pop-up incubation space at Chinatown London, with wheelcake expert Dragon Cat Café the first occupant.

The unit, at 15A Little Newport Street, has been designed by Shaftesbury to host small businesses on a short-term basis. Next to the bustling Charing Cross Road, and opposite Leicester Square station, it is perfectly placed to provide emerging brands with high footfall, as they look to establish themselves within a destination renowned for championing debut concepts and independents. As part of Chinatown London, the incubator space will focus on operators that create authentic East and Southeast Asian products.

The first occupier, Dragon Cat Café, is an independent brand founded in 2018, selling bubble teas and an array of hot and cold Taiwanese snacks. From the incubator space, they will be able to focus purely on freshly made wheelcakes, a fluffy, filled Taiwanese pancake. Classic flavours such as red bean, matcha, and vanilla custard will be on offer alongside unique creations such as oreo cheesecake and cheeseburger wheelcakes, as the brand explores new flavours from the Chinatown London pop-up space.

Julia Wilkinson, Restaurant Director at Shaftesbury, commented: “Nurturing emerging brands has long been a key part of Shaftesbury’s strategy, and Chinatown London has a great history of doing just that; dozens of our existing tenants trialled their concepts here, and many have since taken further sites across the portfolio and elsewhere. Launching this pop-up space also delivers for our community, adding to the rich variety here and focusing on new and exciting ESEA concepts.

“Dragon Cat Café is the latest brand to bring authentic East Asian sweet and savoury treats here, and we look forward to supporting them on their journey, as well as the other innovative operators that will pop-up here in the years to come.”

Cynthia Lee, Co-Founder of Dragon Cat Café, added: “Being part of Chinatown London is something that simply wouldn’t have been achievable for us were it not for the support of Shaftesbury. Not just that, but they’ve put us in a unit within sight of Leicester Square station, which is incredible, so we are delighted to be enticing the huge number of tourists, workers, and locals with the scent of wheelcakes!”

Dragon Cat Café joins the 25 debut concepts and 46 independent brands in Europe’s leading Chinatown. This includes recent launches for Hongkongese café The Eight, hand-pulled noodle restaurant Kung Fu Noodle, serve yourself Sichuanese eatery Zhang Liang Malatang, and Speedboat Bar, the new Thai concept from award-winning group JKS Restaurants.

Further information can be found @ChinatownLondon and www.chinatown.co.uk

ENDS

For further media enquiries please contact:  

Daniel Bleach – +44 (0) 7495 461 545 / [email protected]  

Chinatown London  

China is changing and traditional values are being complemented by new ideals and trends, inspired by other parts of the Far East and the West.  This is influencing what Chinese people and visitors expect in Chinatown.  Shaftesbury understands this and is experiencing directly the evolution of China, spending time in its cities to see, taste and hear what is happening first hand.     

Whilst inherently Chinese, under Shaftesbury’s long-term curation and partnership with the community, Chinatown is evolving to reflect the changes occurring in the Far East, creating is a mix of tradition and modernism that makes cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo and Seoul some of the most exciting places in the world.  Centrally located and one of the best-connected destinations in the capital, Chinatown is served by many underground stations, as well as the Elizabeth line at Tottenham Court Road.

中国城  

中国正在经历翻天覆地的变化，而在东亚其它地区和西方的影响下，中国的许多传统价值也正在和新的理念与潮流相融合。这样的变化也在影响着中国人与其他地方游客对中国城的看法与期待。Shaftesbury对这样的趋势有着深刻的理解，而且也对中国的高速发展有着直接的体会。在过去的一段时间里，Shaftesbury的一些员工被派往中国，亲自去观看、去品尝、去倾听今天中国的脉搏。     

虽然伦敦中国城本质上还是中国传统的延伸，但在Shaftesbury长期的精心策划与管理下，并且在与当地社群的合作下，中国城正在成为反映亚洲巨变的一面镜子。如今，中国城和上海、北京、东京、首尔等等许多令人激动的亚洲城市一样，成为了一个传统与现代相互碰撞、相互融合的地方。  

Shaftesbury   

Shaftesbury owns and manages a 16 acre property portfolio in the liveliest parts of London's West End.  The portfolio comprises of restaurants, cafés, pubs and shops, extending to apartments and offices in the highly popular, sought-after and prosperous locations of Carnaby, Seven Dials and Chinatown, together with substantial ownerships in East and West Covent Garden, Soho and Fitzrovia.  

All our properties are close to the main West End Underground stations, and within ten minutes’ walk of the two West End transport hubs for the Elizabeth Line, at Tottenham Court Road and Bond Street. 

@shaftesburyplc shaftesbury.co.uk 

Shaftesbury 在伦敦最有活力的西区（WestEnd）拥有、管理的地产组合总面积达到16英亩。这些以餐饮、娱乐和零售为主，以公寓和办公室为延伸的地产组合集中于抢手且繁荣的卡纳比大街（Carnaby）、七晷区（Seven Dials）和中国城（Chinatown）区域。同时，Shaftesbury 在科文特花园（Covent Garden）东、西两侧、Soho区和菲茨罗维亚区（Fitzrovia）也拥有大量地产。

Shaftesbury 的地产不仅全都毗邻伦敦西区的各大地铁站，同时紧邻横贯城铁“伊丽莎白线”（Elizabeth Line）上两个西区交通枢纽站——托特纳姆法院路（Tottenham Court Road）站和邦德街（Bond Street）站均在步行10分钟范围内。