UK. Birmingham Airport has hailed the partnerships that enabled the world-first Shelby & Co. Bar and Restaurant – a concept inspired by the popular Peaky Blinders TV show – become reality and has saluted its early trading performance.
The Moodie Davitt Report was on hand for an official unveiling of the bar on Friday 10 January alongside senior figures from Birmingham Airport, F&B partner SSP plus Steven Knight, the celebrated creator of the Peaky Blinders franchise. The outlet opened in December as a first of its kind in a travel location.
The deal for global rights in travel environments was brokered by SSP and Banijay Rights, the global distribution arm of content group Banijay Entertainment.
Mirroring the era in which the popular show is set, the bar evokes the 1920s throughout its design, with a drinks menu that showcases local breweries and gins, plus a menu covering all day parts. Examples include Billy’s Breakfast Bap, Blinder Benedict, Finn’s Fish & Chips, The Tommy Burger and The Piggy Blinder toad-in-the-hole wrap. Signature cocktails include gin-based The Garrison and the Birmingham Sour.
Birmingham Airport Commercial Director Richard Gill told The Moodie Davitt Report: “Peaky Blinders is a worldwide brand centred around Birmingham and we needed to be the first airport to create this concept.
“We are delighted to have worked with Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, with Banijay Rights and with SSP, which is great at turning ideas and concepts into reality. It was a real Trinity partnership that had full buy-in from all parties.
“In the first two weeks of trade we took double the business we forecast from this unit. The consumer interest is amazing and we’re delighted the concept is trading two years on from when this project began.”
Both the airport company and SSP said the concept was adding incremental sales.
Gill said: “It is capturing a wider market rather than taking business from other concepts, from what we see so far.
“The location is central in the departure lounge. We have other strong brands here so we had to create something that captured the attention in this space, and balance demand out across the lounge.
“Shelby & Co offers a focal point in departures but importantly it complements what is happening elsewhere in F&B in the departures lounge, rather than diluting.
“And while the space is the same as under the previous concept – The Factory – we wanted to maximise the numbers of covers here because the demand for F&B in our departures lounge at peak times is astonishing.”
SSP UK & Ireland CEO Kari Daniels said: “We were trading this unit successfully before so we can see the performance comparison based on a robust benchmark. The mix of food has gone up a little versus that location, which is positive. The number of transactions has risen and average transaction values are up too.”
On how food is performing, Daniels said: “Breakfast as a day part is very important, while burgers – always important in casual dining settings – are doing well led by The Tommy Burger. Cocktails also perform well which is a step forward from the previous bar, and means we are seeing trading up in drinks, which is welcome.
“The menu is very accessible – the concept has to work commercially even for those people who don’t know Peaky Blinders as fans. It must and does welcome everyone.”
Reflecting on how the Birmingham-inspired series has been translated for a travel setting, Gill said: “70% our departing passengers are from this region and the brand certainly has resonance in the locality but it is also a reference point for people who are not from Birmingham. It is encouraging that we have found something with sense of place that really matters to people using this airport.
Daniels said: “The risk with a new concept is that it is not authentic to the brand but here the touchpoints really are. The photography on the walls are out-takes from the filming. The space behind the bar is dressed from the set; the menus take their cues from characters in the show; product placement such as Bushmills Irish whiskey are blended in some of the signature cocktails. I would also single out the staff uniforms – they are on-brand, functional and look great.
“There are many things that had to come together here to develop this proposition – creating that authenticity and sense of place, the bespoke casual dining proposition that we see growing in many places, the partnership with Steven Knight and the strong input from Birmingham Airport. It has been a great collective effort across our organisations.”
She added: “The colleague and customer feedback are really important. The former Factory team of colleagues run Shelby & Co now and we have given them a real brand immersion. The buzz among the team and their engagement has been wonderful and that translates into better services and sales. Reputation is a KPI for us and it shows in performance so far.”
With early trading positive, attention now turns to fine-tuning the business, and to considering the wider opportunities for the franchise in travel markets.
Daniels said: “We can make more of the Instagram moments here. The media takeover from check-in to airside has helped to create a talking point. We’ll extend the digital engagement and branding of the store, driving more customer interaction and ensuring that our guests are the ambassadors. We need to retain the unique feel of Shelby & Co, whether that is through keeping the menus looking fresh, the uniforms looking well or updating the digital assets.”
Of the opportunity to extend the franchise further, Daniels said: “People travel to Birmingham because of Peaky Blinders and it has become a worldwide phenomenon. Having opened here now and seeing it resonate makes us wonder what we can do in future.
“It’s not something you can pick up and place down elsewhere. It needs to be on brand and authentic but appropriate for the location, which may mean something different in Birmingham compared to anywhere else.”
Next for the airport company, a transformative investment in airside space – following a relocation of security last year – will see a new duty-free store developed by partner Avolta, and in turn will offer further F&B opportunities.
Gill said: “We have started the main duty-free project with significant investment from Birmingham Airport and Avolta. That will eventually mean moving the main store by 6m to one side, turning the entrance on its head so it’s closer to our new security area. We will add new brands, it will be a fresh experience and should be open fully within 15 months.
“That allows us to open space between the south and north departure lounges in what we call the Millennium Link. There we will create a further 10,000sq ft of F&B space, offering opportunities on which we hope to go to market soon.”
Daniels concluded: “Birmingham Airport has long been an important partner and we have always had good offers here. We believe we can tailor something for the expansion in ways that work for the airport, through our portfolio of franchise brands and SSP brands.” 
The view from Peaky Blinders creator Steven KnightThe multi-award-winning Peaky Blinders show was created and written by Steven Knight, who counts SAS Rogue Heroes, Taboo, See and Great Expectations among his major works for television. Reflecting on the success of Peaky Blinders and how it came to inspire Shelby & Co at the airport serving his home city, Knight said: “If I look back on creating a series about gangsters in Birmingham in the 1920s, this outcome with a restaurant and bar appeared very unlikely. I never thought it would resonate beyond this country. But slowly and incrementally it has grown and still seems to be growing.”  Unofficial, fan-led Peaky Blinders bars have popped up in locations around the world but Knight said that Shelby & Co is better than any of them. “It’s done tastefully. It is themed but it’s not like a theme park. It functions well as a bar, the food is good and while I’m not always a fan of airport bars, this one is fun. It helps that I was consulted along the way and that we were all on the same page.” On how he expects Shelby & Co to be received by guests, Knight said: “A lot of people come through Birmingham Airport to go on holiday and this is not a bad way to start that holiday. It’s a great design and people will enjoy the time they can spend here. “Its success will be defined by how much people respond to it and enjoy it. While there is a captive audience at the airport you still need to offer them something different to interest them.” Knight takes pride in seeing the idea come to life in the city to which he has such a connection. “I don’t normally do a lot of publicity but if it’s around Birmingham I make an exception. To start this idea at Birmingham Airport is wonderful and I hope it can translate to lots of other places too. To close, we ask what Peaky Blinders hero character Tommy Shelby would make of the outlet? Knight said: “I think he’d be sitting in his own private room upstairs, laying a bet and having a whisky.” |
Note: The Moodie Davitt Report publishes the FAB Newsletter, which features highlights of openings, events and campaigns from around the world of airport and travel dining.
Please email Kristyn@MoodieDavittReport.com for your complimentary subscription.
