Full Meal - Club Mexicana – How to run a Vegan restaurant with a difference by rebranding veganism

Meriel Armitage is the owner of Club Mexicana in Kingly Court, Spitalfields and Seven Dials Market, where you can enjoy 100% Vegan Mexican-inspired street food in a fun atmosphere.

Meriel’s journey from running a pop-up to finally running a Vegan restaurant is an inspiration. Her story in the food space started with a Saturday night supper club in a Hackney café. Meriel wanted to build an aspirational brand. She wanted to showcase vegan street food in London to “create great vegan food and show people it’s exciting”.

From the streets to ‘brick-and-mortar’

After a successful time as a pop-up, Meriel took Club Mexicana into the UK’s leading street food organisation, KERB, doing as many street food events and festivals as possible. But Meriel always dreamt of opening a “proper” restaurant where she’d rebrand Veganism to be enticing and fun.

But it was not straightforward as her dream materialised when the pandemic hit. Although she had to navigate the unique challenges hospitality faced during the time, she feels they came out of it as a stronger team.

So after seven years of success in the food space, the brick-and-mortar version of Club Mexicana opened in August 2020 in Soho. You can also enjoy Club Mexicana’s experience in Seven Dials Market. And now, in a second restaurant opened in Shoreditch.

Rebranding Veganism

Meriel took a cue from her background in advertising. Ever since the beginning, she has set her Vegan restaurant apart with an 80s colourful tropical theme. She explains how she wanted to differentiate her brand in a sea of minimalist food stands.

Meriel tells us how she wants to create an aspirational brand and a fun atmosphere. Away from the stuffy, ethical seriousness of most Vegan places.

The success of her restaurant lies in the service, music and vibe. Meriel explains that “90% of why people are there is not for what’s on the plate”. People want to sit there, have a drink and have fun.

By breaking the preconceived ideas around veganism, Meriel wants her customers to have a fantastic time while enjoying excellent food.

The food industry is a community like no other

Meriel tells us that an entrepreneurial mother raised her, so she never knew what patriarchy was before working in a male-dominated industry like the food industry.

However, the community within the food industry is incredibly supportive. And Meriel explains how she was always able to reach out to someone for advice and tips on running her business. One of her great mentors is Zan Kaufman, founder of Bleecker Burger, who advised her on how to run a restaurant, especially on the financial side of things.

A great sense of camaraderie showed up, especially during the pandemic when every business owner in the hospitality industry witnessed the erosion of their business. While at the same time trying to support and guide their team through the furlough scheme.

She talks about the community pulling together with the help of Sports Banger, putting money back into struggling food businesses and providing food for NHS staff and Food Banks across London.

It demonstrates how resilient and strong the food industry is. And as Veganism started to become mainstream and more people wanted in on it, Meriel explains that she’s happily welcoming more competition. Because her vision is for veganism to become an aspirational mindset.

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