Professional squatters who set up shop in celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay’s $16.1 million York & Albany gastropub were served eviction papers, which prompted some of them to leave but others to ignore the directive and stay.
The group Camden Arts Cafe, who call themselves an “autonomous cafe in the heart of Camden,” replied to the papers by expressing disappointment about the situation.
“We are sad to announce Camden art collective have left the building after being served papers yesterday,” they wrote on Instagram, per The New York Post. “We wish those left in the building the best of luck in their endeavors. We hope to be a part of the community again soon.”
The group had previously defended setting up in the shuttered restaurant, saying they had a right to occupy the venue because it was not a residential building and was therefore not included under 2012 legislation which protected private residences from squatters in the U.K., per The Independent.
Each of the squatters referred to themselves as “Gordon” to protect their identities. They told the outlet they were occupying the space as a form of protest for so-called “victims of gentrification” and the U.K.’s planned high-speed railway, H2S, which has an estimated completion date between 2029 and 2033.
“We aim to open our doors regularly to anyone and everyone, particularly the people of Camden who have been victims of gentrification and parasitic projects like HS2,” the group said in a previous social media post.
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The group said they targeted Ramsay’s restaurant in an effort to draw attention to wealth inequality. The US Sun reported that the pub was temporarily closed while the Food Network star was finalizing a new lease. During the interim, the professional squatters circumvented security measures and moved themselves in.
“The York and Albany is an iconic building in Camden since its opening in the 1820s; it has withstood wars and bombs, and despite what the media says, it will withstand the potentially short but hopefully long stay we squatters have here,” they wrote.
“At a time when Camden market has been bought out by a billionaire and many longstanding local businesses are being evicted from their units, it’s even more important that we all band together in all the forms of resistance that we know and can.”