Meet Andrea Rasca:

Andrea is a successful and passionate pioneer in Social Entrepreneurship (and Sustainable Community Markets).

There are many in our food and hospitality industries who attempt to give back to society and make a difference to our communities and planet.? Andrea Rasca is one of the VERY few who has truly made a positive impact and touched so many people and communities.? A perpetual social entrepreneur, visionary, and innovator, Andrea Rasca pulled all of these passions together in the creation of the Movimento Metropolitano, which included the Mercato food hall brand, founded first in the South London area and now in four locations throughout London.?

?Last month I was able to steal 45 minutes out of Andrea’s busy schedule, meeting him at a coffee shop in London’s St. Pancras train station before he hopped on the Eurostar for Paris to work on an upcoming project.? Andrea has a number of food halls in the pipeline in the Americas, Europe, and Asia.? But one thing he emphatically stressed, ALL of his projects will be designed to support the local community and address environmental and social issues.? Not only does Andrea create popular (and profitable) community hubs around food, drink and food education, but also his efforts with Movimento Metropolitano do good for the community within which he operates.? This is not easy task.

?With Mercato, Andrea set out to create a place where people could connect with each other and with the producers of their food, while also supporting local economies and the environment.? The first food hall was Mercato Metropolitano located near the Elephant and Castle tube stop in South London, which opened in 2016.? My first visit to his food hall was in December of that year and we were blown away with the simple yet innovative design and layout, and the passionate operators behind every food counter.? Clearly the community loved this place as we could not find a place to sit.?? With a low, but very smart allocation of fixed investment in the indoor and outdoor area, Mercato Metropolitano shows how passion, creativity, and vision are much more important than a fancy design and large fixed investment in the creation of successful community-focused dining venues.?

Andrea initially assembled over 25 street food vendors to join him and his Movimento Metropolitano to create a community hub where vendors are vetted for their adherence to their food philosophy – one focused on providing nutritious and ample food for everyone.? A great example is that the Metropolitano team hosts under-privileged kids during the summer under the Free School Meals program.? For many underprivileged kids, their only nutritious meal may be that which they enjoy for free during school.? What is a parent or kid to do during summer break?? The kids learn about food (where it comes from, how to make a delicious meal) and then they enjoy a sponsored healthy free meal at Mercato.? What a wonderful way to give back to the community!

?Fast forward from 2016, Mercato in Elephant & Castle now boasts over 40 food vendors, an on-premise craft brewer and even a gin distillery.?? And his brand is now on a growth spurt venturing into unique spaces and even serving as concierge food purveyors in office and resi districts of London.? Quite possibly the most interesting Mercato food hall is the one in Mayfair, adapted into a former church.? Many told Andrea that it would never succeed:? Not enough seats, food vendors over two floors not one, and that a food venue in a church would never work.? Andrea again proved the doubters wrong. (Although, I gotta admit that I felt a bit guilty ordering a gin & tonic at the bar on the alter (but ohhh did it taste good and I’m happily accepting my guilt! ??)

?We look forward to soon hearing about the long pipeline of projects that Andrea is working on throughout the world.? Andrea is a legend in the food industry and the only operator positioning in the ESG food hall category.? And for sure he has a lot of experience.? Watch this space.

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