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Two central market restaurants will open late every Friday and Saturday evening in an effort to make the food hotspot the "jewel in the crown" of town once again.
From tonight, Spanish restaurant Casa Paco and the local-produce-focused La Bouche are set to keep their doors open until 23:00 every weekend and for special events like Valentine's Day – and bookings are already filling up in anticipation.
This follows a successful trial period last year in which the restaurants opened late once a month.
Pictured: La Bouche serves “brunch, lunch and cocktails celebrating the best of Jersey produce” in the Central Market.
Melanie May, co-owner of La Bouche, said she was “super excited” to open at night.
"We've always wanted to open at night since we first moved into the market," she explained.
“The market is so nice at night when it's all lit up.
"It will be great to make it a bit more lively in the evenings, and to make it a bit more like the London markets which are always really busy.”
Since teasing the new opening on social media last week, the restaurant has already received a strong positive response from the public.
Melanie added: "We're almost sold out for tonight and we're filling up quickly on Saturday.”
Paco Lora, the founder of Casa Paco, also said he was feeling “very good” about the opportunity to open late every weekend.
“We opened up late once a month last year," he explained. "We had a very positive response and it was really successful.”
The late-night openings are part of a drive to turn the Central Market into a focal point of town – with live entertainment, extended opening hours and more al fresco dining.
When the Government released a 'project update' report in October, then-Infrastructure Minister Tom Binet said: “The markets should be the jewel in the crown of St Helier and are long overdue for some attention.”
Pictured: The 'night market' plans follow in the footsteps of the Borough Market in London and the Mercado de San Miguel in Madrid.
Economic Development Minister Deputy Kirsten Morel added: “Similar trading pressures have been experienced at markets across the UK and Europe, and we are taking the experiences from elsewhere to improve our markets."
Several efforts have already been made to achieve the goal of revitalising the market and increasing footfall.
These include scrapping early closures on a Thursday, developing a new social media presence, and introducing pop-up shops in vacant units for local artists to display their creative works.
Pictured: Proposals include al fresco dining outside the Central Market entrance in Halkett Place.
The project update revealed plans to transform the cobblestone unloading bay in Halkett Place into an outdoor dining area and to increase signposting to help tourists.
Deputy Morel has said he anticipates the “finished product” being completed before the end of 2026.
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