sporting - Leisure Opportunities

■ Customers choose what they want from the 'food boat' and then pay for their food by weight
Tibits
D
espite the vast array of restaurants
in the UK capital,
the choice for vegetarian
dining is still limited.
One distinctive brand that has
been slowly making its mark in central
London is the Swiss-owned Tibits
vegetarian restaurant in Heddon
Street, which opened in October
2008. Co-owner Reto Frei says
that it has taken time to build up
the business, but there is now a
strong following among health-conscious
diners, and the company is
currently looking for a second suitable
London location.
The origins of the Tibits story
goes back over a century, to 1898,
when Bavarian Ambrosius Hiltl
had to give up his job as a tailor due
to ill health and decided to open a
vegetarian restaurant. Seen as both
an eccentric and a pioneer, Hiltl had
cured himself of his ill health with his
meat-free diet and was on a mission
to convince others. Four generations
later, Hiltl in Zurich is being run by his
great grandson Rolf Hiltl and is now
Europe’s oldest vegetarian restaurant.
Far from being stuck in its past traditions,
the restaurant has continued
to reinvent itself and offers a modern,
interactive space with cool design and a
busy social calendar. The site in Zurich
now offers a cookery school, lounge
bar, nightclub and healthy takeaway.
Reto Frei and his two brothers
Christian and Daniel entered the
picture in 1998 when they won a
prestigious business competition in
"We are not driven by
shareholders, we're driven
by quality. We want to
grow sustainably"
Switzerland with their concept for a
stylish vegetarian restaurant serving
delicious, freshly prepared vegetarian
food from early morning to late
evening. The award caught the attention
of Rolf Hiltl and his wife Marielle
and not long after a partnership was
formed between the five to develop a
new vegetarian concept for the 21st
century. The result was Tibits, with
the first site opening in Zurich in 2000
followed by another three sites in
Switzerland and a first international
site in central London (a second site
briefly opened at Westfield in West
London but then closed).
Frei says that while the brand did not
fit in the shopping centre environment,
the Heddon Street restaurant has gradually
built up a regular following, from
office workers to theatre-goers to a
celebrity clientele including Bianca
Jagger and Stella McCartney.
The restaurant features a
large food boat, where diners
select what they want and pay by
weight.“It makes the food choice
very accessible and uncomplicated,”
says Frei.
Although not brought up as vegetarians,
Frei and his two brothers
have all chosen a vegetarian path for
ethical reasons and are passionate
about taking the brand forward.
Frei says: “We are not driven by
shareholders, we’re driven by quality.
We want to grow sustainably.
“The brand is now attracting a lot
of attention from countries as diverse
as France and Germany, Brazil and
Austria, but for the moment our focus
in on a second site in London, possibly
around Covent Garden.” ●
ISSUE 2 2012 © cybertrek 2012 Read Leisure Management online leisuremanagement.co.uk/digital 47