OLD EL PASO OPENS POP UP RESTAURANT to be POWERED BY DINERS’ CONVERSATION
Old El Paso FajitaFriday Pop-Up at 4 Brushfield Street, Spitalfields, E1 6AN
Friday 20th September, 7pm start Cost: Free. On a first come, first serve basis
Old El Paso is opening a pop up restaurant in which the diners’ conversation, chat and laughter will generate small amounts of measurable electricity that, once channelled through converters, will actually power certain elements of the restaurant – including the warming of your fajita!
The whole restaurant has been designed and created to fuel conversation on what Old El Paso is naming National Fajita Friday – a day they want to encourage the nation to sit and eat with their friends and family. And to keep the banter alive within the restaurant there will be a push button at each table which will dispense a card with a conversation starter on it. Even the fajitas will have thought provoking questions ‘toasted’ onto them and the restaurant will also be styled with neon signs and Mexican street art featuring fun questions to help keep the conversation flowing.
Using piezoelectric technology and specialist microphones positioned at each individual table, the more conversation the table engages in, the more electrical volts they produce. These volts are then connected to a virtual battery.
And as the battery fills up and reaches certain voltage levels, it will unlock elements and rewards for the table such as a margherita tap and even the ambiance of the table lighting.
But if conversation runs out then the battery will start to discharge. So get talking else you might not get your food!
Lionel Morgado, spokesperson for Old El Paso says, “There are many benefits for family and friends connecting over a meal. But we undertook research which revealed that a shocking 22% of British families sit and eat dinner together less than twice a week, with 8% admitting that they never sit and share dinner together. And even when they do make the effort, there are distractions from things like mobile phones and the TV.”
“So we wanted to create a fun space where friends and family are encouraged, and rewarded for really connecting in a meaningful way with one another over a delicious meal. And when people sit together over Mexican it creates happy noise and genuine connections. Everyone has to roll up their sleeves, catch the drips, dive in with their hands and pass the guac around. It fills your heart as well as your belly! he concludes.”
They’ll be a prize for the table which generates the most amount of electricity during the evening.
Open to the public for one night on a first come, first serve basis, the restaurant will serve a starter of loaded nachos, a choice of meat and vegetarian fajitas for main, followed by a dessert, all accompanied by a limited number of alcoholic and soft drinks for free.
Tables for 6 will be available. Evening starts at 7pm.