Artfarm, the independent hospitality company behind Somerset’s Roth Bar & Grill and The Fife Arms in Braemar, has announced its first London project. The company has signed a lease with Grosvenor Britain & Ireland for The Audley pub on Mayfair’s Mount Street.
Built in 1888, The Audley was designed by Thomas Verity, the man who designed the exterior of the pavilion at Lord’s Cricket Ground. Artfarm has appointed architect Luis Laplace, who designed and restored Roth Bar & Grill and Hauser & Wirth Somerset, to lead the interior architecture of the space. Together Grosvenor and Artfarm, will renovate the Grade II listed building, restoring many of the original historic features lost due to bomb damage in the Second World War. The renovation of the five-storey building is provisionally set to be completed in autumn 2022, with the pub re-opening to the community with the addition of a restaurant and rooms.
Artfarm was founded in 2014, by the Somerset-based gallerists and art collectors, Iwan and Manuela Wirth. That year, Artfarm opened its first restaurant, Roth Bar & Grill as part of the Hauser & Wirth art centre in Bruton, Somerset. In 2018, it opened The Fife Arms in Braemar, Scotland, a Victorian coaching inn that underwent extensive restoration to return the building to its former glory. It was named The Sunday Times Hotel of the Year in 2019. Other Artfarm properties include Manuela restaurant in Los Angeles and Durslade Farmhouse in Somerset.
Piers Townley, Mayfair Director at Grosvenor Britain & Ireland, commented: “Community-focused pubs are a vital asset for Mayfair’s residents, workers and visitors. In Artfarm, we have a partner with clear sustainability and community values that match our own. We are delighted to welcome them to Mount Street to join us in restoring this historic building.”
Jonathon Cornaby, Chief Financial Officer at Artfarm said: “We are delighted to be bringing this historic pub back to its former glory with Grosvenor and to make it the heart of the local community for years to come.”
