‘The corporate world just isn’t me’: Flight Club boss Steve Moore on building a hospitality empire
Each week we dig into the memory bank of the City’s great and good. Today, we speak to Steve Moore, the CEO and founder of the hospitality group behind Flight Club and Electric Shuffle, Red Engine
What was your first job?
My first job was as a glass collector at the Bridge House pub in Dorset – where I grew up. I worked there with two of my close friends Jimmy and Dustin. We’re still working together now. Jimmy’s the property design director at Red Engine and Dustin is chief operating officer.
What was your first role in the City or business world?
After studying economics, I went into futures trading, but it was never going to last. The corporate world just isn’t me.
When did you know you wanted to build a career in business?
After my firefighter dad was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2008, I kicked off a fundraising expedition to take a fire engine around the world. In the end we managed 30,000 miles, 32 countries and five continents. We raised more than £100,000 for lung cancer and firefighting charities and won a Guinness World Record for the longest journey ever made by fire engine.
The prep and logistics for it was unbelievable. Sitting in the back of that fire engine I began to get the sense that business was something I could do, knowing that a lot of the skills I had picked up on the expedition were transferable and hugely valuable in that world.
What’s one thing you love about Canary Wharf?
I love that it’s surrounded by water. Even though you’re surrounded by skyscrapers, you can feel like you’ve been transported somewhere far away from the city.
And one thing you would change?
I would make it easier to navigate, maybe by splitting it up into little districts. It can be very confusing to figure out where you are. There are some really cool brands located there but they’re not always easy to discover.
What’s been your most memorable night out?
My birthday last July. Opening a venue in New York City had been an ambition of mine for years and last summer it happened. By chance, the launch night of Electric Shuffle NYC landed on my birthday. It was magic. Best night ever.
And any business faux pas?
I spilled coffee all over the person interviewing me for my first job in London. It was mortifying. I got the job though!
What’s been your proudest moment?
Without a doubt, opening the first Flight Club in Shoreditch.
And who do you look up to?
Tim Booth – the front man from the Indie Rock band, James. He’s my spiritual hero.
Are you optimistic for the year ahead?
Definitely. It’s tough for hospitality businesses right now and the recent Budget was disappointing, but we’re looking forward to a great year ahead. Flight Club turns 10, we’re opening our second venue in NYC and our new franchise partner in Ireland will open its first site in Dublin. It’s going to be a good one.
We’re going for lunch, and you’re picking – where are we going?
Andrew Edmunds in Soho.
And if we’re grabbing a drink after work?
It always has to be one of our venues, but Flight Club Islington is usually the first pick. It’s intimate and cosy. A home from home for me.
Where’s home during the week?
Wimbledon.
And where might we find you at the weekend?
Usually working in my second role as taxi driver for my kids!
You’ve got a well-deserved two weeks off. Where are you going and who with?
I go to this gorgeous remote place in Portugal with the family. It feels as though it’s a million miles from anywhere and the only place I can truly switch off. Bliss.
Quickfire:
- Favourite book? Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl
- Favourite film? The Italian Job
- Favourite artist/musician? James – the indie rock band
- Favourite place in London? Soho
- Cocktail order? An Electric Shuffle slushie cocktail
- Coffee order? Skinny flat white
- Flight Club or Electric Shuffle? It completely depends on what mood I’m in. Flight Club is my first baby. It’s comfort and warmth for me, whereas Electric Shuffle is quite thrilling. So, it depends on what vibe I’m after.