Nearly a decade after opening its first market in Elephant & Castle, Mercato Metropolitano has opened its fourth site in Ilford, east London.
Mercato Ilford features 17 trading partners offering a wide range of cuisines from Ethiopia, India, Turkey and Jamaica, alongside new traders, some of whom are opening permanent businesses for the first time.
One such new business is Afuego by Yassir Chair, a graduate of Mercato’s DreaMM campaign, which helps new food businesses and entrepreneurs break into physical hospitality by offering three-month, rent-free tenures at Mercato.
Alongside the food offering, Mercato said the new site will also be a “platform to promote local food entrepreneurialism and improve access to healthy food that is sourced locally and farmed sustainably.” The Ilford site has been in development for the last five years and occupies a former car park in the town’s ‘cultural quarter’.
The opening event was attended by members of the local Redbridge council, a representative of Mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s office and MP for Ilford South Jas Athwal.
The new Mercato Metropolitano will be the anchor for the ‘Spark Ilford’ regeneration project – a first-of-its-kind initiative for the community. Its opening has created 100 new jobs and will hopefully drive new interest and visitors to Ilford for arts, entertainment, events and food.
It’s the fourth Mercato Metropolitano to open in the greater London area, after Elephant & Castle in 2016, Mayfair and Canary Wharf.
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