New bar 125 Church Street to open in London's Stoke Newington
A new café bar and events space called 125 Church Street is set to open in London's Stoke Newington this September, from the group behind Clerkenwell pub the Blacksmith and the Toffeemaker.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /?>
From Marc Dalla-Riva and Matthew Rix, the bar will offer all-day snacks and drinks, including speciality doughnuts, craft beers, wines and spirits, plus US-inspired sandwiches such as grilled cheese and Cuban.
The two-storey, 60-cover space will have a sofa area, banquette-seating, terrace and 25-foot long garden, and plans to host DJs and open mic nights, poetry evenings and comedy shows.
This will be the second bar for the group, which already runs the Blacksmith and the Toffeemaker, near Clerkenwell, which opened in early 2012. The pub serves a range of drinks, daily-changing pub food, and hosts events, in a relaxed, shabby-chic atmosphere, which includes mismatched bar stools, sofas, and tables.
The duo had no previous bar experience before opening their first venue, but Dalla-Riva had studied at Leith's Cooking School and toured Italy with Gary Rhodes, while both then took a trip across America as the idea to start a bar business came together. They have previously said that they hope to expand further, perhaps even opening a craft beer bottling business in future.