“It looks like the clouds are starting to dissipate,” says Glasson, with a clear note of confidence. Wahaca’s CEO has every reason to be optimistic. This month, the Mexican restaurant organization is back on the path of expansion. with its first opening in six years; a huge venue with a capacity of 150 people as part of the progression of Paddington Square in London.
In fact, this is a vital step. When the organization last opened a restaurant in 2018, the picture was very different. At the time, Wahaca had a property of approximately 30 sites. The aftermath of a high-profile norovirus outbreak a few years earlier had disappeared and the organization hunted for the future.
Then, in 2019, Wahaca found itself in the middle of a media typhoon after a waiter at one of its London restaurants asked to pay part of the bill when his customers left without paying. The waiter then refunded and the organization issued a public apology. and a “clarification” of its strike policy, expressly stating that front desk staff would not be guilty of paying “any element of the bill” in such cases in the future.
A year later, the organization is still reeling from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, which led to a Voluntary Corporate Agreement (CVA) that saw it permanently close more than a third of its restaurants, regardless. its origin in only thirteen sites.
Some think that, given the existing economic difficulties, it may not be the most productive time to open a new restaurant. Glasson, however, insists that the time is now.
“We’re confident in the basics of the business and we’re optimistic,” he says. “For us, [Paddington] represents a turning point after several years of difficulties. “
Glasson joined Wahaca several years ago after working on transactions for a giant accounting firm. Her career first led her to enroll in the organization as an assignments and advertising manager and saw her progress within the company in roles such as food manager and lead COO, before becoming CEO. Paddington marks the opening of his first restaurant since joining the organization.
“We’re very aware of how long it took us to open the restaurant,” he says. “But we see it as a positive thing. We put a lot of attention and effort into making sure we had the right site. “
“We’ve been looking,” adds Mark Selby, Wahaca’s co-founder and chief executive, who originally founded the company in partnership with 2007 MasterChef winner Thomasina Miers. “Wahaca is almost 20 years old and we want it to still be available in 20 years, so we don’t need to move to sites that aren’t suitable.
“Paddington has the scale and visibility we need. It comes with risks, like any site, but I feel like it’s a wonderful area and an opportunity for us.
The opening only reflects the group’s ambition to rebuild its property, but it also marks the creation of what Glasson and Selby describe as “Wahaca Reimagined,” an evolution of the concept designed to bring the logo closer to its Mexican inspiration.
“We need to dig deeper into the cultural environment of Mexico and convey it to all touchpoints within the restaurant,” says Selby, explaining the development. To this end, the interiors of the Paddington restaurant feature a much softer look and trendy color palette, composed of earth tones that aim to “reflect the dynamism and flavor of fresh Mexican cuisine. “The new look, which has already been tested at the group’s newly renovated Wimbledon restaurant, aims to “channel the colors, ‘elements of craftsmanship and design’ from Oaxaca, the southern Mexican city that served as the original inspiration for Selby and Miers when they introduced the company and also includes new tableware and art sourced from the city.
“We’ve spent a lot of time going back to Oaxaca over the past few years and immersing ourselves in the culture, art, and food, and now we’re bringing those reports to our restaurants,” Glasson adds. “Wahaca will have to continue to grow and evolve with the times. This is what other people expect and want, and all long-term restaurants will evolve with this more careful view.
Paddington’s menu has also been revamped. While the group’s signature offering of Mexican-inspired small plates (tacos, tostadas, and quesadillas) is still present, so is a diversity of larger plates to share that, for now, will be served exclusively in the new restaurant. They come with lamb shoulder, served with jalapeno cream, hot sauce, and birria broth; roasted and seasoned chimichurri cauliflower with roasted tomato sauce and macha sauce; and a total sea bass cooked on the grill with achiote and served with charred pineapple sauce and salsa macha.
“For me, good luck depends on how we convince other people to better understand Mexican food and have more confidence in it,” Selby says. “As a kitchen it’s booming, but it still lacks visibility here. Diners are familiar with burritos and fajitas, but they don’t recognize many of our dishes. This is where the challenge lies for us.
While fajitas aren’t really on Wahaca’s menu, burritos have long been a staple dish, though they’re more synonymous with Tex-Mex cuisine. “We’re consistently looking for ways to catch our visitors to see anything that isn’t a burrito,” Selby continues. “We’re thinking about whether it deserves to be on the menu, and that’s a big motivation for us right now. We’re very confident in ourselves on our wider menu and we need to push it forward.
Evolving the Wahaca concept isn’t Glasson and Selby’s only goal. Since the pandemic, the two men have also been working intensively on a new progressive pricing proposition for employees. “One of the wonderful strides we’ve made is passing on the pride of Mexico and our company’s heritage through our teams,” says Glasson. “We call it Proud. “
The program, whose call translates to “proud” in Spanish, grew out of comments accumulated internally by staff during the lockdown. “We asked our workers to write about their motivations, and often it wasn’t just about money. Many referred to their team, the laughter and camaraderie of running together, and we took advantage of that.
As part of this initiative, a new program to recognize an employee’s seniority has been introduced: the organization will pay all workers in the company to leave for Mexico for one week after working there for two years. “We need other people to have a smart list time, report this, share the first-hand knowledge they’ve gained and tell our consumers about it,” Glasson continues. “The hope is that it ignites the fans internally, that it then filters out. “
Other benefits include providing a four-week sabbatical for those who have worked for the organization for five years; and the arrival of an annual Fiestaval, in which all of Wahaca’s restaurants close for a day each summer so that staff can attend an informal festival hosted through the company.
“It’s about looking like we’re a company that cares about us,” Glasson added, noting that the group’s employee turnover rate has now fallen to an “all-time low” of 45%.
Sustainability is also highlighted through Glasson and Selthrough as a key driving force for innovation within Wahaca’s business. Early on, Selthrough and Miers decided they could create a “truly sustainable” multisite recovery. business. In 2016, Wahaca became the first restaurant organisation in the UK to be rated carbon neutral. Since then, it has pledged to reduce its carbon emissions by an average of 4. 2% annually, with the goal of achieving net-zero emissions. until 2030.
“That’s the key to what we do,” Glasson says. “While many operators are innovating through technology, we know how sustainability is taking us into an area that generates creativity.
“It’s about leveraging concepts and working with us and our suppliers to make compelling things. “
Notable measures taken in recent years by the organization include the advent of carbon labeling on menus, which allows diners to see the carbon impact of every dish they order; ensure that 50% of the menu is vegetable-based; reduce the amount of takeaway food packaging used and use compostable fabrics such as bagasse, made from sugarcane fibres; and, perhaps most of all, by opting to remove their meat taco dish from the menu due to their higher carbon footprint. Other projects currently underway include the integration of regenerative agriculture into the company’s supply chain; and the implementation of a “carbon negative” beer, made with hops that are one hundred percent recovered and reused, throughout the restaurant’s estate.
Sustainability is also at the forefront of the design of the group’s restaurants. Paddington, for example, built with “sustainability” in mind and has an all-electric, all-eco-friendly kitchen; and a bar made from reusable hemp bricks.
“We have to constantly challenge ourselves and play with other elements of the business,” Selby says. “Invariably, what happens is it doesn’t work, but it generates whatever else we move towards and explore. We know that this doesn’t build much customer loyalty, but it pleases our groups and is vital to our values as restaurateurs.
“We have to get ahead of the curve and take the industry with us. “
One of Wahaca’s enduring successes over the years has been its ability to generate a sense of uniqueness within a larger casual dining space. The organization remains the largest Mexican-oriented restaurant in the UK; and the only other competitor, Chiquito, is considered more Tex-Mex-themed.
“It’s a complex food to cook and difficult to adapt,” says Glasson, when asked why there are more operators with multiple locations competing in the eat-out industry in Mexico. “That’s not to say that more classic cuisines, such as Italian and Spanish, are complex, but Mexican cuisine uses a lot of indigenous ingredients and requires a lot of work and time to achieve some consistency. “
Selby adds that charging is also a barrier for operators. “Getting it right is incredibly complex,” he says. Everything we serve is ready every day in our restaurants. We want seven chefs in the kitchen, and they cook with over two hundred ingredients a day.
“It’s a huge monetary investment, and it’s tricky to lock in menu costs for future diners. “
Selby sees pricing as a constant challenge for Wahaca, especially in recent years, as the organization has had to deal with the effect of inflation on energy costs. “The scary thing is, if they don’t get transmitted, what happens?”do with their own values,” he says. Wahaca delayed the arrival of value increases for more than a year, which dealt a severe blow to its results.
In its most recent monetary report, in which it declared a pre-tax loss of £0. 7 million, the organisation said it had been forced to set “abnormally high application costs” until September 2023, which it described as a unique problem. effect on the aplicaciones. cuentas. Si I’m honest, every day feels like a boxing match in this industry right now,” Selby continues. However, we are slowly coming out of this. We’ve been waiting to find out what this augmented Wahaca looks like and now we’re convinced and in a position to remove it.
“Companies want to take advantage of this time. You can succeed by investing in experience and equipment. Maybe it’s slower, but I hope there’s more solidity. “
Rising energy costs are just one of the many demanding operational situations Wahaca has been facing lately. Another challenge is the persistent uncertainty in customer behavior. “It’s very tricky to find consistency, especially compared to the pre-Covid era,” Glasson says. It’s hard to navigate, especially with new restaurants, because it’s hard to expect key sales.
“There is much less consistency and profitability and you have to prepare for other scenarios. People are more demanding about where to eat out and how much they spend. We recognize this and know that we have to show up every time. “
While Paddington’s doors have only just opened, the organisation is also in further expansion and not just in the capital, with Wahaca’s regional locations in Brighton, Edinburgh and Cardiff “increasing” or “far exceeding” Covid levels.
“The Wahaca company is a safe size. It’s a good fit for London, but there will come a time when we’ll be too saturated. We’re not there yet and we think there are more opportunities in the capital, but we also need to expand. “in the open air of London.
Glasson is sure how big Wahaca could get, but suggests it would be wonderful to have returned the group’s dominance to 20 places in time for its 20th anniversary in 2027. “Sounds good,” he adds with a smile. But it’s not a question of numbers, it’s a question of how our existing heritage is doing.
“We say we’d like to open one or two restaurants a year and we’re very confident. But we’d rather operate fewer sites that perform well rather than have more that don’t meet our standards.