ANNUAL rEport 2008 - Tivoli

2008 in retrospect
Nimb revisited
It took 14 months of intensive work and an investment of
some DKK 100 million to give Copenhagen its new gourmet
house in the renovated Nimb.
The old building from 1909 did not at all live up to modern
standards; the kitchens did not have enough space and too
many stopgap measures with respect to the working environment,
and the premises and their lay-out were not satisfactory
either. Also, the utilisation of the many square metres was less
than optimal; several attractive rooms to which the visitors
should have had access were used for storage and changing
rooms. To some extent, the house was living off its good reputation
rather than actual merit.
Through its working relationship with Løgismose A/S, Tivoli
found the partner that could get Nimb out of the deadlock, and
the renovation project was launched in January 2007.
The renovation resulted in major changes to the interior of
Nimb, whereas it looks exactly the same from the Tivoli side in
spite of the front having been moved 3.5 metres into the Gardens.
The front facing the streets has been provided with more
windows but is generally covered by laser-cut lattice work of
Arabian-inspired design. Inside, the old Lumbye Hall remains
intact but with new furnishings. The Hall is used as a lounge
bar. The rest of the first floor is used for hotel purposes with 13
luxury suites and also holds Rotunden and Vinterhaven used
for conferences and banquets.
On the ground floor facing the streets, we find the Løgismose
deli (voted Best Store in Town 2008) with its own dairy and
chocolate production. The ground floor also holds the grill bar
with the prize-winning gourmet hotdogs (voted Best Surprise
in Town 2008) as well as Restaurant Nimb (voted Best New
Restaurant 2008), which is a brasserie, and Restaurant Herman,
which is the chef Thomas Herman’s gourmet restaurant
at which he primarily interprets Danish cuisine in an original
ANNUAL rEport 2008
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and innovative manner. Many Danish and international guests
visited Herman including Condoleezza Rice, then Secretary of
State of the USA, who enjoyed the food and the décor at a dinner
with the Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs during her visit
to Copenhagen in 2008.
In the basement, we find Nimb Vinoteka which stores all the
wines served in the house. Furthermore, wine and charcuterie
are served. Even expensive wines are sold by the glass, which
allows more visitors to become acquainted with world-leading
wines.
Nimb reopened on 1 May 2008. The great expectations were
met; both the Danish and international press have been enthusiastic
about the individual parts and the house in its entirety.
The restaurants were favourably reviewed, and long and many
were the articles about the delights of Nimb and the fact that
epicurism has been made accessible to everyone on a much
larger scale than previously seen in Copenhagen.
One of the first devotees of Nimb was Tyler Brûle, trendsetting,
American lifestyle expert. He immediately moved Copenhagen
to the top of the list of the world’s best cities in his magazine
Monocle stating Nimb as the reason, and in the Financial
Times he ranked the lounge bar as the best lounge room in any
hotel across the world.
Nimb also received the Dairy Gourmet Prize 2008; the Løgismose
Dairy received a prize for its ewe’s milk as well as for its
barista milk. In the Danish Restaurant Guide 2009, Thomas
Herman was nominated Chef of the Year. The Dessert of the
Year was made by Restaurant Herman and the restaurant also
shared first place for the Wine List of the Year.
In future years, the challenge will be to maintain the high level
of quality while improving the financial results of the house,
which in 2008 showed a loss of DKK 14.5 million before tax.