Larry Seymour

Larry Seymour

controlling interest

Seducing the square mile

features, November 2007, COMMENTS

Influential operator Larry Seymour of The Mint Group talks to Rachel Esson about the challenge of entertaining a city crowd round the clock, why he is the man with everything and what the company’s expansion plans really entail.

arry Seymour, Operations Director of The Mint Group, smiled proudly at the luxurious surroundings when NIGHT asked him about the company’s latest venue Mary Janes. Looking at home in one of the venue’s secluded booths, he says: “I think we’ve done a very good job of the design with Paul Daly. It’s textured, there’s lots of different levels of detail, it’s a stunning environment and we’ve received very positive feedback about it. It’s individual and it’s interesting.”

The all-day lounge and party bar opened on Minories at the heart of the City next to Tower Hill in October. Its clean cut deep wooden hues, rich velvet furnishings and impressive pewter curved bar front, along with individually sourced retro mirrors, chandeliers and mid 20th century iconic art create an air of old school glamour and sophistication. “I think you can see very traditional elements to the design and you can see contemporary angles as well,” observed Larry. “If you can get those in sync and blend them together without being too far in one direction, that’s how you create interest.”

Larry speaks from many years of experience; he has been involved in operations for as long as he can remember, starting off at First Leisure where he opened Leicester Square’s Equinox in 1993. “I did a regional manager’s job for the company then I spent a number of years with a media organisation. The businesses I’m associated with now are exactly at the end of the market that I love to be. For me it’s easy skipping to work in the morning as it brings me a lot of pleasure.” Larry leaves his family home in Brighton each day to commute into London, a city that he loves, he says, and that he has operated in for the last eleven years. It is clear to a probing eye that Larry is in full flow of a successful career, “I’m a man with everything,” he smiles.

Larry’s description of Mary Janes as “individual and interesting” embodies the buzzwords of The Mint Group’s portfolio of privately owned restaurant, bar and music venues. No two venues in the seven-strong estate are the same. Each boasts its own unique personality and style; Mary Janes is “feminine (obviously) and homely in feel”, a true “lady of leisure”. When NIGHT met Larry during the day at Mary Janes the atmosphere was relaxed and friendly. Although humble about his personal achievements and career, Larry was keen to discuss the acquisitional nature of The Mint Group, which was founded by Alex Rutherford and Olly Bengough in 2001. “The Mint Group is a forward-thinking company; we’ve got a great team, some great products, great vision, huge amounts of energy and a collection of like minded people, which is a pretty strong force,” he enthused.

Mary Janes is one of two recent additions to Mint Group, which also includes Bison & Bird on Clapham High Street, south west London, and follows on from Infernos in Clapham, Elk Bar in Fulham, acclaimed music venue and events space KOKO in Camden, together with The Ranch bars in Twickenham and Bristol. Previously Fine Line bars, both new venues provide an informal setting for all-day casual dining, a strong range of drinks, late licence and a party-led atmosphere. Key features in both are pre-bookable booths and areas to appeal to both the corporate and leisure market, whilst in the Bison & Bird Sky Sports will be broadcast.

Larry joined The Mint Group when they owned just one venue, Infernos, and he’s now into his fifth year with the company. “I guess what’s nice about us is that we have a very varied estate and a very successful business in terms of turnover,” he states. Infernos is one of the capital’s last surviving 70s discotheques and remains a nightlife institution with over 3,500 guests passing through its doors every weekend. It was formerly owned by Charlie Chaplain in its day and it has a huge amount of character, with period fittings and features.

However, the biggest milestone for The Mint Group was the acquisition of the former Victorian Theatre, Camden Palace in 2005. Larry explained: “KOKO was a building that in its life had always enjoyed a great deal of success. The challenge was to find a format for that for 2004 and beyond, bringing it up to date, and making the investment which it needed, putting the right technical spec in there and having the business model to deliver a five-seven day operation.” KOKO is a multi-faceted venue and one of the capital’s best live music destinations, showcasing new acts, as well as worldwide superstars, including Madonna, Coldplay and Prince. KOKO also hosts high profile corporate events such as the Elton John Aids Foundation, successful club nights such as Club NME and The Album Chart Show for Channel 4. Larry was keen to stress the importance of KOKO and the live music sector for the company going forward. “Increasingly live performance is a big part of an artist’s activity and we’d love to develop our presence with KOKO – that will be a very careful move in terms of the brand and bricks and mortar. We don’t want to have one in every town, but we do want to develop here and abroad.” he said.

In addition to The Mint Group’s bars and music venues, the company has diversified by staging the first ever festival event on Clapham Common in 2002, bringing artists such as Paul Oakenfold, Moloko and Jamiroquai to South London for 60,000-strong audiences, and by launching TMG Properties in 2006, an arm of the company dedicated toward urban development.

Mary Janes marks the company’s first foray into the City, where Larry says, there’s a “ready market” if you create the right offering. The 7,000 square feet, all-day bar has a 400 capacity and is spread across two floors. Following a 12 week build and major structural work the venue now features an open plan bar and frosted glass-floored mezzanine balconies. “For me it’s a very interesting shape,” said Larry, “It’s not a little bit of ground floor trading with a basement, it’s very open plan so there’s lots of light flowing through the building. Design wise we’ve played with this light via the glass floor.” The light glass floor contrasts with the ruby red drapes across the front windows, and together with a progression of the music leading up to DJ sets into the late night, allows the ambience to evolve throughout the day.

The building’s shape presented challenges for Turbosound Ltd, who designed the sound system to give an even coverage across the venue with more energy focused on the lower level dance floor. “The NuQ series was chosen for this installation for its superior sound quality and small and un-obtrusive format, which were high on our client’s list of priorities,” said Turbosound’s Paul McMullan.

Vintage chic sweeps through the venue, with stylish Jacobean oak detailing and floral, handmade iron balustrade gracing the two feature staircases. Traditional lighting, elegant chandeliers and lampshades, supplied by Kensington Lighting, add to the ornate style, whilst an aquarium adds VIP interest. Larry commented: “We work very closely with Paul of Daly Design; we’ve got strong ideas and we know where we want to go so what we need is a creative partner who can bring bits of excellence and magnificence, but also allow us to see our points and have our points accommodated so the end product fits our vision.” And what is this vision? “Exactly what you see,” he replied, “Mary Janes is really special.”

Venture through to the back of the bar and you’ll find yourself facing a stunning scarlet-lit, floor to ceiling alchemist’s collection of bottles showcasing an extensive range of drinks. The drinks and cocktail menu, which includes over 30 types of wine, homemade confectionary-inspired Sweet Shop Shooters and other “premium and obscure products”, caters for daytime trading, after work drinkers and evening visitors. Exclusive to Mary Janes in the UK is the Frida Kahlo range of tequila, a trio of super premium tequilas inspired by the famous Mexican female artist. The offer came about after Larry met the owner of the brand in Miami. “It’s ultra premium, quite niche, and comes in a handcrafted bottle; it’s a perfect signature for Mary Janes alongside our other tequila brands,” said Larry.

A Champagne Club has been tailored for Square Mile drinkers who can indulge in a range of fine Champagnes by the glass from 5-7pm. But the main challenge, says Larry, was to create a suitable food offering. “There was an opportunity for food sales at lunch, early evening and late night, so from a design point of view the challenge was how to exploit these opportunities without compromising its status as a late night destination by making it too much like a restaurant,” he mused. Mary Janes’ all-day menu of informal dishes is about having all your heart desires. With ‘make your own’ burgers, salads and old-fashioned ice cream sundaes, customers can pick and choose toppings.

The horizon is dotted with future projects for the Mint Group. They recently announced plans for expansion, hoping to open a further four bars across London and the south east over the next year. More specifically they aim to increase their presence in the City following the success of Mary Janes. Larry claims they have daring and ambitions plans for 2008. “We’ve got the expertise, management platform, business model, huge brand value, and a very loyal customer base; all that’s left to contend with is finding the right location. We’d love to do something overseas, and Vegas is very tempting,” he revealed.

Larry sees an opportunity with both KOKO and Infernos to create like businesses. “We’ll do something in 2009 with them, not necessarily in London, but certainly in the UK. Everywhere we look we see opportunity,” he enthused.

Words: Rachel Esson

From: November 2007

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