Squatters have taken over the site of celebrity chef Marco Pierre White's former restaurant in the heart of Leicester Square, just days after anarchists took over Gordon Ramsay's £13million London gastropub.
A group moved into the site of the now-closed Mr White's Steak, Pizza and Gin House last week and “put big padlocks on the doors,” a delivery driver told the Evening Standard.
“It's not ideal for the reputation and image of the square,” he told the newspaper. “There were people lining up in the back alley of the building for what looked like a big party. The squatters have chosen a very nice building. “They haven't given us any problems but it's not ideal.”
Another local business owner told the newspaper: “It's one of the best buildings on the square, they're properly barricaded. They put a sign on the door about your legal rights. “They obviously know what they are doing.”
The Metropolitan police have already secured the five-storey building and there were no signs of squatters on Tuesday, according to the Telegraph.
The manager of a nearby restaurant said she had been informed by Westminster City Council that authorities had discovered around 400 people occupying the building. The independent He has approached the police and the city council for more information.
Black & White Hospitality, the company White created with businessman Nick Taplin, was also contacted for comment. He previously ran the 600-seat restaurant, formerly Chiquito's, before it reportedly closed its doors in February.
The temporary occupation occurs after the takeover of the hell's kitchen Ramsay's former York & Albany gastropub, near Regent's Park, was the work of a group who wanted to set up a cafe and community gallery.
They were served with legal documents on Tuesday, beginning the process to evict them from the Grade II listed building.
Occupation of a person's non-residential property without their permission is not in itself a crime in the UK; However, the police can take action if crimes are subsequently committed, including damaging or stealing property.
While the Metropolitan Police said last week that the occupation of Ramsay's gastropub was “a civil matter”, chef Gordon Ramsay Holdings International Limited has now brought High Court proceedings against the illegal occupiers.
The squatters had previously announced their intention to turn the space into a community cafe and art gallery, with the aim of “opening our doors regularly to everyone, particularly the people of Camden who have been victims of gentrification and parasitic projects like HS2”.
“We offer free food, drinks and a space to display your art without the ridiculous bureaucratic galleries that require people to jump through. “We believe that all of us and our art deserve dignity,” they said in a statement on Instagram.
The independent Visited the pub on Monday for a “Paint N' Chinwag” session open to all, and one squatter said: “It's very quiet at night and you can hear the lions roaring from London Zoo.”
But the next day, the squatters announced that they had closed the cafe after serving them.
