In the last ten years, 326 Walworth Road has been five different businesses – but it seems the newest restaurant is here to stay.
Koma is a family-run Latin American restaurant serving a fusion of Ecuadorian and Colombian food. Kevin Torres, runs the business with his wife and their sisters.
“We opened here in August, after having a market stall in New Cross,” he said.
“There wasn’t much room there for big families and groups of friends to eat in as we shared the place with other stalls.”
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Now in the heart of Walworth Road, there’s plenty of space for people to come. Before Koma, the space was filled by various chicken shops and takeaways – but local and chair of the Walworth Society, Jeremy Leach, said they never seemed to last long.
“Businesses there never seem to last,” Jeremy said. “In the last ten years, 326 Walworth Road has been five different businesses.
“It always seems to be something different. But this new Latin American restaurant is finally making a go of it!
“It always looks busy.”
So has the ‘curse’ been lifted?
“On Walworth Road there are lots of takeaways and kebab shops – so there was lots of competition for the businesses before,” Kevin said. “Maybe that’s why they didn’t do well. We’re the only restaurant of this kind on the road. There’s also a huge Latin American presence in Elephant and Castle, who are our main customers.
“People always say how good the food is and they always come back.”
But it isn’t just the food they’re going back for.
“As well as having the restaurant, I’m part of a charity called ‘WellWater’ which works to provide clean water and infrastructure to remote communities across the world,” Kevin explained.
In 2018, they started that work in Nigeria, and the first community they worked with was called ‘Koma’. “So we called the restaurant Koma to remember why we work – the bigger cause.
“As well as the name, ten percent of the profits from the restaurant go to WellWater – to build wells in villages like Koma,” Kevin added.
Koma is at 326 Walworth Road, SE17 2NA. They’re open everyday from 12pm until 12am.
Find out more about WellWater here.
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