STATEMENT PROVIDED BY ARABICA BAR & KITCHEN
On Wednesday 14th June at 11am, Arabica Bar & Kitchen will re-open its doors to the public and resume service as normal. James Walters, Arabica founder comments “Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences remain with the friends and families of the victims and those still fighting for their lives. We need to stay strong, support each other, re-open our doors and allow the healing process to begin. We are going to need London more than ever now so please come and visit us and the rest of our Borough Market community soon.”
To mark the re-opening, Arabica Bar & Kitchen will be adding, the aptly named, London Courage to the cocktail menu (Arabica’s Levantine take on a traditional Tom Collins), and on Sunday 18th June the restaurant will launch its informal Sunday music sessions.
Walters continues “This will be an opportunity for guests and visitors to Borough to come together, rejoice and salute the incredible values our society stands for – freedom, tolerance, diversity and love.”
Arabica Bar & Kitchen will donate all ticket sales and £1 per London Courage Cocktail served to the Borough Market Relief Fund.
To donate to the Borough Market Relief Fund please visit: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/bmrelieffund
STATEMENT PROVIDED BY BOROUGH MARKET
While the victims of last week’s terror attack will never be forgotten, and while the trauma experienced by the Borough Market and wider London community will weigh heavily for a long time to come, it is essentially for the wellbeing of everyone associated with Borough Market that we return to at least a semblance of normality as soon as we can. On Wednesday, the bell will ring, the stalls will open, customers will start to arrive, and the healing process will begin.
That healing process will require a vast well of empathy and support—something that we know exists here in abundance. We have been flooded with messages and offers of help. Traders, customers, staff and trustees have done whatever they can, from the local artist who donated works of art inspired by the Market’s produce to help the Red Cross UK Solidarity Fund, to traders such as Horn OK Please and Borough Wines who used their presence at other markets to raise money for the fund. Gourmet Goat is planning to give away pots of koliva, a dish of wheat berries, spices and mint that is loaded with symbolism in the eastern Mediterranean, in exchange for a donation. Hundreds of people have made donations the Borough Market trader support fund, which has been set up to support the small independent businesses whose viability has been put at risk from lost stock and cancelled trading days.
The strength of this community has been sorely tested over the past 10 days, and it has shown itself to be rock solid. The Market’s staff have worked around the clock and through the weekend, in circumstances of both logistical challenge and emotional strain, in an attempt to get the place ready for its reopening. Many others, from the building firms that volunteered their help to the markets that offered temporary stalls and storage facilities to our traders, have played their part. On Friday morning, London-based florists, flower growers and greengrocers will join together to create a beautiful installation of flowers and fresh produce around the main Art Deco entrance on Borough High Street.
Anyone else who wishes to help in the coming weeks can do so in one simple but fundamental way: by turning up, putting a buzz back into the atmosphere, and buying some high-quality food and drink from the fantastic array of traders who make this such a special and diverse place. To help our stallholders and give more customers a chance to do some shopping and show their support, we will be stay open on Sunday, both this weekend and next. Come along to show your love for Borough and the values of tolerance and community that the Market does so much to promote.
Starting on Wednesday, every person who comes here will be making a difference. At 10am, we will link arms, pause for a moment of silent reflection, then ring the Market bell loud and clear. And from that moment onwards we will need you more than ever.
