John Lewis has officially opened the doors to a new flagship Jamie Oliver Cookery School and Café at its Oxford Street store, reinforcing its commitment to transforming retail spaces with vibrant, experience-led offerings.
Spanning more than 4,600 sq ft on the store's third floor, the new hospitality hub features two dedicated classrooms for hands-on culinary workshops and a 50-seat Jamie Oliver Café, offering a blend of relaxed dining and immersive cookery experiences. This move is part of a wider transformation strategy by John Lewis to meet evolving customer expectations around combining shopping with quality hospitality.
The expansion comes amid a notable increase in food and drink demand in stores, with hospitality sales up 6% year-on-year, and one in five transactions now taking place in a café or restaurant. The business reported that its in-house "Place to Eat" restaurants welcomed 750,000 more customers last year compared to the year prior.
Katie Papakonstantinou, Director of Services & Hospitality at John Lewis, commented:
'Opening the Jamie Oliver Cookery School and Café is a fantastic addition to our Oxford Street store. Whether it's a chance to ponder a purchase, or an escape from the bustle of the shop floor, having a varied and exciting assortment of hospitality offerings within our stores is vital for our customer experience. It's why we are continuing to invest in new offerings, and why by the end of the year we plan to have over 60 dedicated hospitality spaces across our 36 stores.'
The Oxford Street launch is just the beginning. Five new cafés and restaurants are planned in 2025, with an additional 11,000 sq ft of hospitality space being added across the estate by year-end. This will bring the total number of cafés and restaurants within John Lewis shops to 62. These include two new Ori Caffes opening in Liverpool and Solihull, and another café planned for the Southampton store.
Beyond permanent spaces, seasonal pop-ups are also in the pipeline. Next month, a pop-up floral-themed English wine bar will transform the Peter Jones atrium to celebrate the Chelsea Flower Show.
Ed Loftus, Group Restaurant Director at the Jamie Oliver Group, added:
'We are delighted to partner with John Lewis to bring our unique Cookery School to life in the flagship Oxford Street store. This is the next step in growing the footprint of the Jamie Oliver Cookery School across the UK and internationally. Our Cookery School in Jamie Oliver HQ in North London has seen incredible growth since it first opened and even more importantly, we continue to receive incredible positive feedback from our customers. To see our sentiment scores continually high brings me total joy. Our cookery schools offer an incredible experience; we are all about unleashing your inner chef! We bring to life Jamie's no-nonsense approach to cooking, focusing on the experience… whether it's date night, a group of friends or team building.'
This development is part of a wider programme of John Lewis store investment and refurbishment, with significant overhauls planned for Liverpool and Bluewater locations and Beauty Hall enhancements across five additional sites.
More information:
John Lewis Partnership
www.johnlewispartnership.media