Levi Roots to open London restaurant
Levi Roots, the creator of Reggae Reggae Sauce, is to open a new London restaurant later this year, two years after he closed his last venture.
Levi Roots' Caribbean Smokehouse will open later this year at Westfield Stratford City shopping centre, in partnership with Las Iguanas co-founder Eren Ali.
Roots, a British-Jamaican reggae musician, is famed for making one of the most memorable appearances on the BBC TV show Dragons' Den, when was offered an investment of £50,000 for a 40% stake in the business by Peter Jones and Richard Farleigh.
The new restaurant business comes on the back of the success of the Levi Roots sauce brand, which now has 50 products in the portfolio.
However it is not the first time Roots has opened a restaurant. He opened the Papine Jerk Centre in Battersea in 2007, serving Jamaican cuisine to the nearby Thames Christian College. It closed in 2013.
Speaking of his partnership with Ali for the new restaurant, Roots said: "I know Caribbean cuisine and Eren knows how to create successful dining experiences. It feels like the perfect partnership."
The duo has brought in Steve Phillips, previously of Gourmet Burger Kitchen, as head of operations.
Ali said: "I've been relishing the idea of working with Levi. We are bringing something unique back from our Caribbean travels together to Levi's adopted home town of London."
Roots added: "Since the initial success of Reggae Reggae Sauce on Dragons' Den I've wanted to bring the tastes of the Caribbean to as many people as possible. Now that we have built such a strong reputation for the Levi Roots brand, it feels like the right time for me to open a restaurant to give even more people the opportunity to enjoy genuine Caribbean cooking."
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