London pop-up bottle shop opens ahead of 2021 restaurant launch

A London eatery has announced that it is opening a pop-up shop ahead of its new restaurant launch in early 2021.

Bodega Rita, a cult sandwich shop and owner of Rita’s Dining, is launching the pop-up bottle shop today in the space that is set to become its latest restaurant venture, Rita’s Soho.

Rita’s Soho is due to open in early 2021, with the pop-up shop opening from now until 25 December, joining Shaftesbury’s portfolio.

Missy Flynn, co-founder, commented: “We’re really excited to have signed the lease in Lexington Street and can’t wait to welcome everyone to our new restaurant in the new year.

“We were unsure whether to do anything this side of Christmas and had to tread carefully in terms of timing, but it felt like a shame to stay hidden.

“We’ve brought all our fixtures from Bodega Rita’s Kings Cross out of storage, so Bodega Rita’s will be temporarily ‘popping up’ between now and the official restaurant opening in 2021.

“We’re essentially squatting in our own restaurant!”

Gabriel Pryce, also co-founder, said: “We’ll be opening a “pop up in our own shop” up until the 25th of December.

“Hospitality is part of who we are so we are of course so eager to be able to welcome everyone into our new restaurant and for me to start cooking again.

“For now, we’ll be opening the doors for a few weeks in the lead up to Christmas and it feels great to be able to share some beautiful wines, bubbles, mulled wine and a few deli bits over the festive season.

“The restaurant will be built properly in the New Year and we hopefully will be opening Rita’s proper in early 2021.”

Julia Wilkinson, restaurant director at Shaftesbury, added: “We are delighted that Bodega Rita’s has joined Shaftesbury’s F&B portfolio.

“They will bring a unique and independent offer to the Soho customer and we look forward to them launching their full concept in January.”

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