Falmouth’s Custom House Quay with some of the best harbour views in the country is about to become a “go-to” spot for the local community and visitors to sample a diverse array of food and drink pop-ups while spectating a bumper summer of events on land and sea.
The 350 year-old quay operated by Falmouth Harbour is becoming home to a scenic “Grub Hub” of independent street food vans and vendors following a successful – and mouth-watering – trial last summer.
Former superyacht chef Paul Halliday is returning with his mobile Pescabar after a fruitful September ‘22 trial on the Quay creating exquisite take-away seafood specialities:
“Custom House Quay is a beautiful spot to work from and the feedback from customers last year was amazing,” he says. “It’s always been a great year-round destination with all the surrounding pubs and restaurants – and alongside those it’ll be good fun to have a real foodie colony of pop-ups on the Quay this year.”
Falmouth Harbour is inviting bookings for its pop-up slots from February with the Hub up and running for purveyors of food and drink between April 1 and October 31. Throughout July and August – peak time for events at the Harbour including the Tall Ships Festival, Shanty Festival and numerous regattas – the entire Quay will be closed to parking and turned over to the Grub Hub.
Falmouth Harbour has been seeking the most exciting propositions for public enjoyment of the Quay – with the concept of a “Grub Hub” growing from the magnitude of events through the summer and demand from visitors and the artisan food outlets themselves.
Harbour CEO Miles Carden says, “It’s a privilege for us to hold such wonderful, historic waterside quays as part of our Falmouth Harbour estate and we are delighted to be opening Custom House Quay in particular to local food and drink businesses in what will be such a blockbuster Summer for our town.”
Event highlights of the Harbour include the ever-popular Shanty Festival from June 16 – 18, the national Armed Forces Day on June 24, a rare return for the world’s Tall Ships Festival and Race from 15 – 19 August and Falmouth’s famous Oyster Festival from October 12 – 15.
Interspersed are major regattas including the Azores and Back (AZAB) Race, Falmouth Classics, International Shrimper Week, the Scheveningen50 Dutch Regatta, Powerboat racing and Falmouth Regatta Week.
Miles says, “Providing a scenic space for food and drink pop-ups alongside our existing friends and tenants on the Quay gives our locals and visitors more choice and variety while they enjoy all the Harbour spectacle – and it’ll increase visitor footfall to our local businesses for longer periods. We all love good food and we are really excited to be giving Cornwall-based pop-ups a scenic spot to share their deliciousness with Falmouth.”
Independents wanting to join the Grub Hub can apply to Falmouth Harbour from mid-February online at www.falmouthharbour.co.uk/grubhub with successful applicants renting a space on Custom House Quay. Permits are available for week, month or season-long spots.
To find out more about the work of Falmouth Harbour, Falmouth Haven and Falmouth Pilot Services visit www.falmouthharbour.co.uk
