Marc Francis-Baum
30 years ago I used to head off down to Kings Cross on a Sunday lunchtime with my university mates to go to the mega club / antipodean all day booze fest that was The Cross. But the days of buying 6 cans of Castlemaine XXXX in a clear plastic carrier bag full of ice for a tenner are long gone down in Kings Cross.
Or Coal Drops Yard as it now likes to be known.
First to move in was Central St Martins College of Art. Soon followed by Universal Music, google and evil global behemoth Facebook who’ve both opened their European headquarters there. But it’s not just American corporates who’ve piled in, it’s also managed to attract some of the most innovative and interesting entrepreneurs in retailing and most especially in F&B.
Enter stage right, a great Friend of Aubin, Mr Marc Francis Baum. I say enter stage right, because when he shows up, it’s like the house lights have dimmed, the audience is muttering with excited anticipation and then boom, the stage lights come on.
Marc Francis-Baum is one of those blokes that when you meet him, you just sort of wish you were him. He’s cool, he’s handsome, he has an amazing ‘tache. He runs pretty much the
coolest bar / restaurant / event space / shopping mall we’ve ever been in. And that is Mare Street Market.
Originally conceived in, wait for it, Mare Street in Hackney, Marc has recently opened his second outpost in Kings Cross’s trendy Coal Drops Yard. Built on the same concept as Mare Street Market 1.0, Mare Street Market 2.0 is huge. First and foremost, it is a fantastic bar and restaurant [will, I hope, be hosting the Aubin & Wills HQ Christmas bash….] but also has a wonderful and eclectic bunch of brands sitting alongside and inside it to complement the vibe.
Amongst others, furniture & lighting from Pure White Lines, Community Radio Station Voices Radio, Plantful plants and flowers, Nobody’s Business Tattoo Parlour. The list goes on. A hand selected and perfectly curated bunch of retail concepts which work perfectly alongside and contribute to the atmosphere created by Marc and his team.
But of course, this is not Marc’s first rodeo. And I don’t just mean he’s done a Mare Street Market before. Which he has. Marc is a serial F&B entrepreneur who just pumps out hit after hit after hit.
Two Floors in Soho.
Hoxton Bar &
Kitchen.
Camden Hells Brewery?
Marc’s brainchild.
Flying Horse Coffee? Another
one of Marc’s.
So, whilst we can all marvel at Marc as the Elon Musk of the food and beverage industry, though much slimmer, more handsome, and quite honestly, a lot less weird. What is really inspiring about hanging out with him is to see first-hand how he naturally puts together such a great team of people and brands which sit so naturally and superbly together.
Our Friends of Aubin programme exists to just talk about and champion some of the people we come across in our lives. People we like, who are creative, inspiring, interesting and brilliant at what they do. What is so lovely about Marc is that he shares this ethos to the letter. So at Mare Street Market, there’s a very natural ecosystem where the whole very much is greater than the sum of its parts.
And for that we salute him.
Do pay them a visit very soon.
Follow Mare Street Market on Instagram here.
