London's food scene is renowned, but Mairi Livsey identified a missing element: the chopped chicken Caesar salad wrap. If you've been on social media recently, you've likely seen these wraps flooding your feeds, having gone viral in Los Angeles earlier this year. The trend left thousands craving them, including Livsey.
The 28-year-old was desperate to try one but couldn't find any in London, which sparked the idea for CZER. 'Back in January, I was in Gail's, and they'd just added a new chicken Caesar club sandwich. As I was looking at it, I suddenly found myself desperate for a chicken Caesar wrap,' she recalls. Livsey, then unemployed, paused in the cafe as the business idea struck her.
Along with her partner, Marius Baltatis, she developed the concept within 24 hours, purchasing a domain, creating social media accounts, and designing branding on Canva. Fast forward to May, and within six days of launching, CZER has become a hotspot for lunch in London, with reviews hailing the wraps as 'divine' and 'perfection'.
The business is tucked away at the back of a convenience store in Mayfair, offering just two menu items: the Classic CZER (romaine lettuce, roasted chicken breast, croutons, parmesan shavings, and CZER sauce) and a Picante version with jalapenos and spicy sauce. Customers can customize their wraps, with popular additions including Doritos Chilli Heatwave, McCoys Salt & Vinegar, and even a boiled egg.
Priced at £13 each, the wraps are not cheap, but demand is high. Livsey says some customers wait up to two hours, and they have sold out every day since opening on May 9. The hype was boosted by Eating with Tod, who shared a video with his 2.4 million Instagram followers, but Livsey insists much of the buzz is organic. 'We started posting on TikTok before we even had a space confirmed, and it's brought together this really beautiful community,' she says.
Livsey notes that the customer base is predominantly women, which she finds heartwarming in a male-dominated industry. While some are surprised by the instant success, she anticipated it. 'I could picture people queuing down the street for a chicken Caesar wrap, because I knew that I would do that.' However, she didn't expect 100 people queuing on a Monday morning. 'It's been a real whirlwind, and I'm speechless, but it's amazing, and I'm so grateful.'
CZER also offers London's 'crispiest Diet Coke' – cans of Diet Coke with a £1 ice cup filled with crushed ice that 'marinates' in the freezer for at least 24 hours. The long wait times are due to the small counter, which accommodates only three staff members at a time. Livsey is not encouraging queues but assures customers they are not going anywhere. She has purchased 30 umbrellas, hands out free sweets, and hired a queue manager to keep waiting customers informed.
They often close queues early due to selling out. 'We make our sauce in vats every morning because we don't have the space to make more behind the counter during the day, so once it's gone, it's gone,' Livsey explains. The recipe was developed by Good Food Studio, and all chicken is cooked fresh daily by a nearby salad bar. 'We refuse to have anything frozen, because I don't want the quality to be compromised. If I feel like that's going to happen, I will stop serving.'
CZER is open seven days a week from 11 AM inside The Mayfair Food Fayre.
