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 set to become a “Grub Hub” of independent street food vans and vendors between April 1 and October 31 following a successful – and mouth-watering – trial last summer.
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.
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.
He said: “Custom House Quay is a beautiful spot to work from and the feedback from customers last year was amazing.
“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 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 said: “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 added: “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.”
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