With a tattoo on his arm dedicated to Heinz tomato ketchup and a whole song about his love for Nandos chicken, it’s fair to say that Ed Sheeran is a foodie. So he did what any other 29-year old foodie with fame and fortune on their side would do… open a restaurant!
In July 2019 Ed Sheeran opened Bertie Blossoms, a pub, and restaurant based on Portobello Road in Notting Hill, London. The restaurant serves a small, Meditteranean inspired menu with offerings such as Apple and Celery Crab Tartare, Confit Salmon and Stuffed Aubergines.
Ed certainly isn’t the first celebrity to open a restaurant – he joins the likes of Michael Jordan, Jon Bon Jovi, and Rio Ferdinand. But will Ed Sheeran’s side hustle take off? Does he have plans to open more restaurants in the future? Keep reading to find out.
Bertie Blossoms
Back in January 2019, restaurateur’s José Nietro Albores and Eduardo Lage Porto were forced to call time on the little business venture they’d been working on since 1999. Galicia, their Spanish restaurant, was put on the market for $1.5 million. Little did they know that the buyer would be British singer-songwriter, Ed Sheeran.
But what persuaded Ed to delve into the culinary industry?
Since 2016, Ed has been taking frequent hiatuses from music to avoid burnout, enjoy his youth, and focus on other endeavors. He’s always loved going to the pub, so why not buy his own?
Ed co-owns the pub alongside his manager Stuart Camp. Its name, Bertie Blossom, is a tribute to their partners: Bertie is a nickname for Stuart’s wife Liberty Shaw, and Blossom is a reference to Sheeran’s wife Cherry.
Announcing Bertie’s opening in July 2019, Ed wrote on Instagram:
“Me and Stuart Camp have opened up our own bar in London. It’s called Bertie Blossoms, and it’s on Portobello Road, opposite Pizza East. Good beer and good food. Pop in when you have time, hope you like it”.
The eatery follows a green botanic theme, with the outside façade of the building painted a bottle green color.Inside, there are green velour seats, a bronze topped bar, faux trophy heads, and paintings of Elvis Presley and Dolly Parton.
As for food, Bertie Blossoms offer a variety of meat, fish, vegetarian and vegan options. They offer everything from black bean vegan burgers to bavette steak with homemade chimichurri.
Wondering what it’s like to work at Bertie Blossoms and have Ed Sheeran as your boss?
Over the years, Ed has developed a good reputation for how he treats his staff. During his debut on British TV show TopGear, Ed divulged:
“Basically every year I give people who work for me a Christmas bonus and this guy that works for me […] would always go on about wanting a Porsche 911 Carrera. He’d be like ‘it’s my dream car’ so this year I just bought it him”.
This kindness even applied during a worldwide pandemic. During the battle against COVID-19, Ed told staff members at Bertie Blossoms not to worry about their job security. He pledged to foot the bill of being closed from his personal funds, meaning there would be no redundancies.
The Lancaster Lock
Bertie Blossoms isn’t Ed’s only experience as a pub landlord. Located right in the center of his £1.5 million Framlingham estate, Ed built the Lancaster Lock.
Much like Bertie Blossoms, The Lancaster Lock is named after Ed’s wife, Cherry Lancaster Seaborn. Speaking to The Sun about the public house, Ed said:
“You have to go underground to get to it. If I have a party, everyone goes in the pub and no one can get in the house, so you get no one raiding the cupboards or smashing anything”.
So what do locals think of the Lancaster Lock? Well, it turns out Ed is the only local. After battling noise complaints from neighbors, Sheeran bought the 5 properties surrounding the pub.