Harts Group chief design officer steps down
James Hart will be moving on from his executive involvement in Harts Group but will continue to design for the group and remains an owner and board member
Harts Group restaurant business has announced that chief design officer James Hart is stepping down from his role in order to launch his own design company, Harts Creative.
Hart joined brothers Sam and Eddie in Harts Group in 2016, ahead of the launch of the first El Pastor restaurant. Starting successfully as commercial director, he found himself increasingly utilising his aptitude for design, acquisition, and property development.
He was instrumental in the securing and building of the Coal Drops Yard restaurants for the group – Casa Pastor, Barrafina, Parrillan and The Drop, then El Pastor Soho in 2021 and the re-imagining of Quo Vadis restaurant last year.
In 2022 he made the decision to focus entirely on the design side of the business as CDO, and oversaw the design and build of Barrafina, Parrillan and Bar Daskal at Borough Yards.
Whilst Hart will be moving on from his executive involvement in Harts Group, he will continue to design for the group and remains an owner and board member. Harts Group will continue to be led by Sam Hart, Crispin Somerville and Anna Watkins.
Regarding his decision, Hart said: “Seven and a half years ago I joined a restaurant group with an ambitious agenda to expand, whilst retaining a laser focus on quality. Harts Group has been home across some incredible projects and through some extraordinary times. It has been a privilege to face the challenges and triumphs of the group side by side with the best in the business.
“It’s with some trepidation therefore but also significant excitement that I set up Harts Creative and look forward to all the new adventures that it will bring.”
Sam Hart said: “It’s been an absolute pleasure to work alongside James for the last seven and a half years, starting El Pastor together and building 11 beautiful restaurants in that time. I am delighted to see Harts Creative come to life and James opening his talents to a wider pool of fortunate future collaborators.”
