Waterlooville restaurant looks forward to festive New Year celebrations after last year halted plans

George Purnell, owner of Koop+Kraft in Waterlooville

Koop+Kraft is holding a jazz-funk night for its New Year’s Eve event this year, with a night of jazz-funk hits from throughout the decades.

The easy-dining restaurant and cocktail bar is promising twice as glamourous Christmas and New Year celebrations this year after last year’s lockdown put an end to its festive plans.

Owner George Purnell said he and the team are really looking forward to the festive period feeling somewhat normal after last year’s uncertainty.

George Purnell, owner of Koop+Kraft, Waterlooville

He said: ‘We were gutted last year when we had to close, as Christmas and New Year is such a busy time for us. Not only did we lose a big chunk of our revenue, but we weren’t able to celebrate with our customers – a lot of which are regulars and have become like a second family to us.

‘This year feels especially festive for us, and for a lot of people from what I’ve been hearing. It feels like there is more Christmas spirit than ever and there’s such a good vibe in the restaurant this year.

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‘It has felt relatively normal this year, we’ve had a busy year despite restrictions and a busy month of December. We’ve had office Christmas parties coming and enjoying themselves and we’re still booking in work dos.’

George has been running jazz-funk events at the restaurant since August 2019 and has found they have become extremely popular.

The New Year’s Eve event will see a DJ set from jazz-funk and soul club, The Cabin, from Waterlooville.

He said: ‘We held a jazz-funk night a couple of years ago and were slightly sceptical as it isn’t something that I was massively familiar with, but it was a great night and brought along such a great crowd so we knew it would be the perfect theme for New Year’s Eve. It’s going to be such a good night and we can’t wait to raise a glass at midnight to see the back of a challenging year and welcome in a year full of exciting opportunities.

‘We just hope that restrictions will allow this to go ahead and nothing changes in the meantime.’