Wahaca (phonetic spelling of the Mexican State of

Oaxaca Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...

) is a UK restaurant group selling Mexican-style street food, co-founded by

Thomasina Miers Thomasina Jean Miers, Order of the British Empire, OBE (born February 1976) is an English cook, writer and television presenter. She is the co-founder of the Wahaca chain of Mexican street food restaurants. Early life Thomasina Jean Miers wa ...

, with 14 branches in the United Kingdom.

History

Miers opened the first branch in Chandos Place, London in August 2007, focused on Mexican street food. In October 2008 a second Wahaca opened at Westfield in London. Two further branches in Canary Wharf and Soho followed in 2011, and Wahaca launched its first mobile street kitchen. In 2012 it opened its Top One Wahaca Southbank Experiment. In September 2015 Wahaca opened its first restaurant in the north west, based in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

. In July 2016 Wahaca launched its "at home" range. In October 2016, Wahaca opened its first restaurant in Scotland, in central

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. As of December 2017, Wahaca had 25 branches, up from 19 branches in September 2015. They also had three bars and two street kitchen locations. In November 2017, Wahaca used the Mexican holiday

Day of the Dead The Day of the Dead () is a holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2, though other days, such as October 31 or November 6, may be included depending on the locality. The multi-day holiday involves family and friends gathering to pa ...

as the basis for a three-day festival to promote their business. In August 2020, Wahaca announced that it would close ten of its 28 restaurants due to a downturn in business caused by the

coronavirus Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the comm ...

pandemic A pandemic ( ) is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has a sudden increase in cases and spreads across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. Widespread endemic (epi ...

. As part of the restructuring the following Wahaca restaurants were permanently closed:

Bluewater Bluewater(s) or Blue Water(s) may refer to: Maritime * Blue water, the global deep oceans *Blue Water 24, an American sailboat design * Blue-water navy, a navy that can operate in deep waters of open oceans * , a Panamanian tanker in service 1952- ...

(Kent), Bristol, Brixton (London), Charlotte Street (London), Chichester, Manchester, Liverpool, Kentish Town (London), Southampton, and St Paul’s (London). In November 2020,

Dick Enthoven Richard Enthoven (1937 – 2 December 2022) was a South African billionaire businessman who was the owner of the casual dining chain Nando's, the Hollard Group of insurance companies, and Spier Wine Farm. Early life Richard Enthoven was the s ...

, owner of

Nandos Nando's (; ) is a South African multinational fast casual restaurant chain that specialises in Portuguese flame-grilled, peri-peri style chicken. Founded in Johannesburg in 1987, Nando's operates over 1,200 outlets in 30 countries. Their log ...

, bought a £4m majority stake in Wahaca's parent company, Oaxaca Ltd. Wahaca entered into a

Company Voluntary Arrangement Under UK insolvency law an insolvent company can enter into a company voluntary arrangement (CVA). The CVA is a form of composition, similar to the personal IVA (individual voluntary arrangement), where an insolvency procedure allows a compa ...

(CVA), in which shareholders and lenders agreed to write off £25m of debt while injecting £5m into the restaurant chain. In April 2023, Wahaca announced that it would no longer serve steak with a view to reducing its carbon footprint.

Awards

Wahaca has won awards for its food, design, and sustainability. In 2016, co-founders Mark Selby and Thomasina Miers were voted restaurateurs of the year by Caterer Magazine. In 2016, Wahaca became the first restaurant group in the UK to be certified as carbon neutral.

Norovirus outbreak

In November 2016, Wahaca restaurants primarily in London, but also in other locations including Manchester, were suspected as the source of a

norovirus Norovirus, also known as Norwalk virus and sometimes referred to as the winter vomiting disease, is the most common cause of gastroenteritis. Infection is characterized by non-bloody diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pain. Fever or headaches may ...

outbreak leading to 1000 people falling ill, with symptoms including vomiting. In response, Wahaca temporarily closed nine outlets and apologised to those who had been unwell.

Employment rights

In June 2019, Wahaca was criticised for making serving staff pay part of the bills of customers who left without paying. Following a backlash on social media, they changed the policy.

References

External links

* {{Food chains in the United Kingdom , state=collapsed

Fast-food restaurants A fast-food restaurant, also known as a quick-service restaurant (QSR) within the industry, is a specific type of restaurant that serves fast food, fast-food cuisine and has minimal Foodservice#Table service, table service. The food served ...