'Marbs effect' comes full circle as La Sala plans restaurant in Essex

The flagship La Sala restaurant in Puerto Banús has proved popular with British holidaymakers, especially those from Essex

After years of making Marbella feel like a little corner of Essex, the famous Costa del Sol resort is hoping to lend a little Spanish flavour to residents of the Essex town of Chigwell following the news that La Sala is set to open a restaurant there…

Co-owned by a consortium of former Premier League footballers (including recently retired David Bentley and former Tottenham Hotspur defender Stephen Carr), the La Sala chain already has four establishments in Spain. But reports this week have revealed that the chain’s fifth restaurant will be located in the rather less-than-exotic environs of Chigwell.

Why? The answer is simple. “”The main reasons for choosing Chigwell were twofold,” said a La Sala spokeswoman. “We have a database of over 3,000 local people that have been to our restaurant La Sala in Puerto Banús, and the location is local to many of our footballing-related investors.”

Work has already begun on the €2 million venture, which is set to be located on the former site of the White Hart Inn in the heart of town. It is believed that the restaurant will create 70 local jobs in the area when it opens in September.

La Sala’s biggest backer is James Horler, the former chairman of Spanish tapas restaurant chain La Tasca, which he sold in 2007 for nearly €200 million. Having since set up La Sala, Horler’s passion for Spanish cuisine, style and glamour has grown even stronger.

“I’m really excited about this opportunity as La Sala is a totally different concept and the right brand to bring to the UK at this time,” he said, adding that the brand’s international recognition – forged in the party-hard surroundings of Puerto Banús – was something he and his business partners were hoping to replicate in the decidedly more temperate surroundings of southeast England. If this pilot venture is successful, then Horler hopes to open a further five La Sala venues in the UK over the coming three years, although where these might be located could be anybody’s guess.

A quick straw poll of visitors to Puerto Banús would likely suggest that Kent, Liverpool, Manchester and West London would prove popular, while the Irish, who descend on Marbella in their droves every summer, would certainly not turn their noses up at a La Sala opening in Dublin.

But for now, let’s just appreciate the satisfying symmetry of Marbs’ Brit-targeted appeal coming full circle and expanding into the UK. It does not happen too often (Spanish retail giant Zara’s surging success not withstanding), and one cannot help but wonder what might be coming next: A Supersol for Southampton? An El Corte Inglés for Islington? A Repsol service station for the M6? Stranger things have happened…