Lewisham’s revived Model Market will open in “late summer” with the German Kraft brewery in charge of the operation, its owners have announced.
Plans to bring back the much-loved street food market were announced last year, with the developer LandSec, which owns the site and the shopping centre, pledging to open up this spring.
But while some work has taken place on site, the units that vendors will be operating from remain shells.
Now LandSec, which is planning to redevelop the mall with 1,700 homes and a new shopping centre, is promising “a long-term, vibrant, all-day hub for traders, local creatives, and the wider community, which transitions seamlessly from morning coffee and co-working to micro-dining, creative retail and evening programming”.
German Kraft opened for business in 2017 at Mercato Metropolitano, a street food market close to Elephant & Castle that is due to close in August for redevelopment. Its parent company Mosaik Hospitality also runs Altar Bars in Mayfair and the Gleis//Garten food market in Vienna.
Felix Bollen, a co-founder of German Kraft and Mosaik, said: “We’re excited to bring Model Market back to life as a next-generation social destination for Lewisham, a place that feels open, dynamic and deeply connected to the local community. We’ll be continuing the community social hub we ran in Elephant & Castle over the last nine years.”
Paul Redden, the director of Lewisham Shopping Centre, said: “We’re incredibly excited to be partnering with German Kraft to bring the new Model Market to Lewisham. German Kraft’s proven track record operating vibrant, successful venues means they know how to create an environment that’s welcoming, energetic, and full of character. We can’t wait to see it all come to life when the Model Market officially opens.”
Until the 2000s the Model Market, just south of the main shopping centre, was a hub for small traders, attracting many black-owned businesses.
In 2014 it reopened as a street food market and quickly become hugely popular, but closed in September 2021, when its operator, Street Feast, collapsed.
LandSec’s plans for Lewisham Shopping Centre were approved last October, with work due to start on the northern part of the site next year. In April, Boots moved to a different unit in the centre to free up its old site for the redevelopment.
The Green elected mayor of Lewisham, Liam Shrivastava, who took over when Labour were ousted in the election last month, has criticised the development, which offers just 98 social-rent homes and 231 discount-rent homes out of a total of 1,744 homes, but with permission already granted his new council has little room to manoeuvre.
LandSec’s representatives have been asked for comment on the delay to Model Market’s opening.
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