Station Square Boulevard, the new public realm at the heart of the Friargate development, has once again played host to Coventry’s newest street food market. Last Thursday, traders selling pizza, quesadillas, American desserts, pulled pork and hot drinks catered for the 17,000 people who use Coventry rail station every day, as well as local residents and office workers.
Customers could sample the deep fried Oreos from Spangles, shipped in from the USA, or the pizzas cooked in a huge pizza oven operated from the back of a van by Bare Bones Pizza. All Terrain Coffee proved a welcome stop for weary commuters, whilst the innovative Mexican fare at the Street Chef’s ‘Caterpod’, and the smell of pulled pork from the Pork Society caravan, drew the lunchtime crowd from nearby offices.
For a handful of lucky Twitter users, the Street Food Market also provided an opportunity to win tickets for MTV Crashes at the Ricoh Arena on Friday night. In the week running up to the event Friargate posed a number of questions to their Twitter followers and the lucky winners were able to pick up their prize at the event.
Station Square Boulevard has become a popular thoroughfare since the ribbon was cut in March, welcoming the first Street Food market at its grand opening. Since then it has linked the rail station with the city centre and made walking to and from Coventry’s retail core both easier and more enjoyable.
Stephen Reynolds, of Friargate Coventry LLP, stated:
“This is the second time we have run a street food market on Station Square Boulevard, and once again it was a fantastic success. There is clearly a demand for high quality food and drink in this area, and although commuters were the most frequent customers, the market drew in local residents and office workers as well.
“The new public realm, delivered as part of the Friargate development, is the perfect space for this type of event. We are always looking at new ways to get the most out of it, and we hope Coventrians will help us to make this a vibrant public space in the future.
“We will carefully consider all the feedback we have received, both from customers and traders, as we look to make Friargate Street Food a regular event.”
The Friargate development spans 37 acres between Coventry railway station and the city centre. It will transform the city with over 3 million sq ft of new space including Grade A offices, hotels, shops and new homes.