The Little Door & Co is looking to open one or two sites per year as it gears up to open its fifth bar, the Little Violet Door, in London’s Carnaby this summer.
Co-founders Jamie Hazeel and Kamran Dehdashti tell MCA that the house party-inspired bar concept’s popularity “in terms of numbers” is higher than ever, with the business on track to deliver £12m in turnover this year.
The business began with neighbourhood-focused venues – in Notting Hill, Clapham, and Fulham – and continues to look at both neighbourhoods and central London, even as it prepares to open a second venue in Soho. The first, the Little Scarlet Door, opened on Greek Street in 2022.
“Kingly Street and Greek Street are distinct areas of Soho with distinct identities,” Hazeel says. “So we’ll have distinct offering at the Little Violet Door.
“The Little Scarlet Door is doing so incredibly well – it’s busy to the point it’s oversubscribed. So we’re confident in opening in another part of Soho.”
The new venue will take inspiration from the music, fashion, and culture during Soho’s heyday in the swinging sixties, while the Little Scarlet Door has a New York City-inspired loft feel.
“The beauty of what we do is that every venue feels different to the others,” Hazeel adds. “Greek Street is a vibrant hub of late night life within Soho, while Carnaby has a more consistent buzz throughout the day.”
Violet will therefore have a significantly bigger kitchen, with more focus on the food offer – particularly brunch – to “get people in earlier,” while Scarlet will continue to be more late night-oriented.
Other features include a ‘kitchen disco’ and laundry room, dedicated to the house party-inspired vibe.
“We’ll have DJs playing from the kitchen island,” Dehdashti explains. “There’s a kitchen as a focal point to interact with…it’s creatively a lot of fun for us and an exciting impression of our brand identity.”
The three other sites continue to perform “incredibly well as neighbourhood favourties,” leading the business to look at expanding its presence in North and East London neighbourhoods.
“It’s not a clear strategy to go central,” Dehdashti continues. “People use both our neighbourhood and central sites depending on where they work, live, and meet their friends. They’re exposed to our brand in different ways.”
The idea is to avoid oversaturation in any one area, but Soho delivers “by far the most resilient trade in a year of unpredictable trade,” according to the two.
“Walk-in numbers are higher than they’ve ever been, but there’s more variation in spend than we’re used to.
“We do have challenges around spend per head, but our overall popularity and numbers are going up.”
Small events of 20-50 people, such as birthday parties and other occasions, continue to be a significant part of the business, especially in neighbourhood venues.
“There’s definitely more hesitation around funding these events,” Hazeel says. “Our brunches continue to be popular – that hasn’t changed.”
“Perhaps you have less people coming in between 6-9pm, but the number of people coming in after 9pm is the highest it’s ever been,” Dehdashti adds. “It’s hard to know whether that’s reflective of a general trend or what we’re known for as a brand.”
Regarding challenges and closures in the bar sector over the past year, Hazeel and Dehdashti say The Little Door continues to trade well by virtue of offering a unique experience.
“It goes above and beyond of what’s expected…you’re coming into a public space that feels like a home.
“Our hospitality, culture, and service mentality enforce that idea. It creates loyalty within our customers and also increases spend because they want to spend more time with us.”
A strong food offer, as well as creative touches such as games, also make for a more engaging venue, according to the two.
“There’s no doubt market conditions are stacked against hospitality at the moment,” Hazeel says. “There’s a real onus to deliver a quality product and well thought-out experience.”
The Little Door & Co is considering expansion outside London further down the line rather than becoming oversaturated in the capital, but will continue to look at opportunities in other areas of London first.
Finding the right site with the right licence is key, and the business will only invest in sites “we really believe in,”
“One of the reasons we’re doing well at the moment is because at no point have we not been selective and meticulous about our sites.”
The Little Scarlet Door opening changed the scale and structure of the business in terms of employee and revenue numbers.
Now that the venue has been “embedded,” the brand is keen to pick up its pace of expansion at one or two sites per year.
“We like to do things differently, we perceive, to the rest of market,” Hazeel says. “It’s that that makes us resilient.”
