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REGULARS: Sandwich bar case study
our own bread. Not only that, but we do all our roast vegetables in the fire. I basically devised the concept around that oven. Anything that we do ourselves is generally in that oven. We try to simplify what we do as a consequence. People see our produce and give us good feedback on what good quality it is and the techniques that we use to get that.” For a man who had no previous
experience in conjuring recipes and blends for mass consumption, it is genuinely impressive to see how far his menu appears to have progressed. What is more, there seems to have been no concrete logic with regard to his recipe creation. “We basically just chucked some stuff in
until we thought it was right and now we’ve got people in to make it for us,” Hampson admits. “It’s difficult – companies don’t like making things for small businesses like ours. We had to get a track record first, and because we order produce from another [smaller] arm of the people we use, they’re almost doing us a favour in making it.” I still find it slightly perplexing that a
former banker with no grounding in food could simply stand over a hob and ‘chuck things in’ until the taste tantalised, but it seems to have succeeded. One can’t help but imagine that the initial creation of recipes for any start-up foodservice business will be one of the most important, time-consuming processes of the venture. For example, sourcing ingredients, particularly for the high-end of the market, takes months of research alone. So, where exactly does Hampson get his from? “Here, there and everywhere. We try
to keep our suppliers to a minimum, but we’re searching all the time to find the best quality. We’ve also got to be practical, so we try to keep it to a smallish group. Things like ham and salami I source from Italy. When I was researching the concept, I found a deli that did this ham that I really liked. I feel the
quality will shine through and people will be prepared to pay the extra money that it costs.” Costs. Now there’s a word we’re
all drearily familiar with. Without going into specific detail, Hampson makes it abundantly clear just how expensive renting a site in Bank is. What is vital to remember, though, is that such prestigious locations should theoretically entice a similar sort of consumer demographic, ultimately leading to the location paying for itself. Unfortunately for Hampson, the stage was only set momentarily, as moments after he moved into the area, so did the builders. Directly opposite Nuvo sits one of the largest building sites in London – you can still hear the weariness in Hampson’s voice as he talks about the bad luck of such a project starting around the same time as his. “We opened in 2005, so we’re coming up
to seven years. You might say, ‘Seven years? What have you been doing?’ It has been a massive learning experience, I have to admit – going from a zero knowledge base. We got hit by this area, which, as you can see, is a bombsite. It has been like that since 2007. The building opposite was demolished and the other large building on the corner is empty. This really inhibited us, but it also allowed us to really look at our concept and just make it as good as we could make it. We had to get people to make that extra special journey here. Even though two minutes doesn’t sound like a great deal of a walk, in a city it is a million miles. “I’d stand on my step at lunchtime when
no one was coming by, wondering if it was worth it. We then got into the delivery side of things, which showed us that people wanted what we do. It gave us confidence.” By Hampson’s own admittance, one has
the right to be curious as to what the company has been doing for seven years if they’re not expanding. To rent such an expensive site just
“Nuvo prides itself on its hand-made dough, which goes on to form the basis of the majority of the dishes on offer”
a stones throw away from Bank Tube Station would surely suggest expansion if you’re flourishing, or closure if not. “We’re looking to get another site this
year – it’s going to be a little bit further afield. There are a few little areas in the city that would work quite well with our concept. We’re looking at sites that will be three, maybe four times bigger than what we’ve got here.” One thing that site expansion achieves is
broadening a company’s target consumer. At the moment Nuvo attracts a very repetitive wave of buyers. This is almost all down to the location chosen by Hampson. We talk about the industry and the immediate success of some of OOH’s previous interviewees. Tossed, for instance, is a very familiar chain to Hampson, and he admits that its first location greatly contributed to its rising status. “Our clientele is not very transient,”
he says, “it is mainly people who work in offices who come in on a regular basis. They pretty much figure out what they want and then stick to that.” Will this be the case at Nuvo’s next
location? Only time will tell. For now, it seems the Bank site will continue with its deep-filled menu, serving high-end produce to the city workers of London. Will Hampson fall short to the temptation of complacency? For me, he doesn’t seem the type. “We’ve got to keep simplifying really.
People do react like, ‘Oh my, look at all that stuff on the menu!’ That’s not a good thing, so we’re working on that. In the future, we’ll be tailoring our menu so that it is not so widespread. “At the moment, this is a two-day part
concept of breakfast and lunch. The idea of this when we set it up was to have a three- day part. We want to provide breakfast, lunch and dinner, seven days a week. At the next site, we’re going to make damn sure that we do it.”
OOH JULY 2012
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