Here at Taste, we see a lot of bar and restaurant launches. Safe to say, this is the first we've encountered where the launch date is set, but no one knows what it'll look like.
“I know what processes are going to be used. And I know what materials are going to be used. The rest is left open to interpretation,” Joe Hartley, Head Maker at The Pilcrow says cryptically.
Part of the NOMA development, The Pilcrow will be built entirely by volunteers using traditional building techniques and artisan crafts, led by a line-up of skilled practitioners. Essentially, The Pilcrow is a new breed of local pub, built from the ground up by the community.
Well established, but hard to define, Hartley is an inter-textile artist and maker / ceramic and woodwork wizard, most recently known for his collaboration on the Common refurb.
Better known for his minimal ceramics, Hartley will be turning his hand to interior fit-out at The Pilcrow. Working on the project full time, The Pilcrow building site will essentially become his (and the community's) workshop until they hand over the pub to the bar operator in September.
During this time Hartley will curate the list of artists, builders and makers who will lead workshops to facilitate the creation of the pub. Volunteers will comprise of a cross-section of surrounding communities, recruited via The Pilcrow marketing team, who are aiming to keep classes as inclusive and diverse as possible.
The team hope that this process will imbue The Pilcrow with the character and charm you’d expect to find in an established local boozer.
“When you go into a brand new pub that’s been designed to look like a pub, it's just pastiche - it's not really a pub. It’s a recreation of a pub,” Hartley explains.
“Because this is a new building, we’ve got a job on our hands to create something that feels like a pub, and I think this is the only way to do it."
The minor drawback? No one really knows what this pub is going to look like, Hartley admits.
“I’ve designed a framework, but it’s the volunteers that have the final say.”
One of the key, and most inspiring points of this build, is that The Pilcrow team are putting the community at the heart of the design process- something that requires a huge leap of faith on their part.
“There’s a certain amount of faith involved in people. Faith that it’s gonna be alright. That they’ll do a good job.”
As for the beer selection, customers can expect a range of cask, keg and bottles, and we’re assured the bar operator will share The Pilcrow's ethos.
So what will punters be pairing with their Pilcrow pint?
Hot pot – classic. But this won't be your average hotch-potch hot pot. The Pilcrow team are taking it to a whole new level.
“We’re going to research every aspect of it: history, ingredients, even the pot it’s served in,” says Hartley.
“We’re trying to thoroughly engage with the idea of the hot pot, explore it.”
In doing so, the team hope to serve up some of the best hot pot in the city.
And the part they’re most looking forward to?
“Getting into the building will be quote symbolic. But in a way, there wont be a day that we first walk in, we’ve already been on site so in a way we’ve already been in,” says Hartley.
He recalls colleague Ben Young's analogy - “It’s a bit like growing up – there’s not a day that you realize you’ve done it. It's going to be a slow process of growth.”
Only time will tell what kind of pub The Pilcrow grows up to be, and we can't wait to find out.
The Pilcrow will be celebrating the start of their project on site at Sadler’s Yard on 4 December. Meet the team and sign up for workshops from 7pm, with pizza, music and beer. Visit their website here for more info.
Props go to the talented team behind The Pilcrow: Joe Hartley, Ben Young, Tom Carter, Neil Greenhalgh, Ged Connar, Jess Higham, Dave Sedgwick and Rob Evans.