Peter Gordon and Adam Wills to close Kopapa
Adam Wills' and Peter Gordon's London fusion restaurant Kopapa is to close at the end of the week.
The 70-cover Seven Dials venue, which opened in late 2010, will shut its doors on 1 May.
The move comes after Wills and Gordon decided they were facing increasing demands on their time with projects such as Crosstown Doughnuts (of which the pair are founders).
The site has also been the subject of several unsolicited bids from other restaurant groups, which prompted the pair to consider their options, they said.
"Kopapa is a great restaurant and we're lucky to still enjoy commercial and critical success there but Crosstown has progressed quicker than anticipated and I'm enjoying dedicating time to its development. I'll be sad to see Kopapa close, but it feels like the right time," said Wills.
Crosstown Doughnuts was founded in 2014 and can be found at various markets throughout London, as well as in retailers such as Selfridges, select Wholefoods, Notes Coffee, Sourced Market, Air New Zealand (served on Business Class to LA) and an array of independent stores.
In May 2015, Crosstown opened its first permanent store on Soho's Broadwick Street, pairing doughnuts with artisan coffee. There are plans in the pipeline for more stores to open in 2016 along with further development of its online store.
The decision doesn't affect the Providores and Tapa Room in Marylebone, which remains Gordon's flagship restaurant and is this year celebrating its 15th anniversary.
This year also sees the publication of Gordon's eighth cookbook, Savour: Salads for all Seasons (reviewed here).
Gordon is known as the king of fusion cooking. He made his name in his native New Zealand as head chef of Wellington's Sugar Club in 1986, as the first chef to create an Asian-influenced menu in New Zealand.
When its owners transferred the restaurant to London in the late 1990s, he made it one of the hottest tickets on the London restaurant scene.
He left the Sugar Club to launch his own restaurant, the Providores and Tapa Room in London's Marylebone High Street, in 2001, quickly picking up a Catey Newcomer of the Year in 2004.
He also became executive chef for burger chain GBK in 2001 and helped develop the menu.
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