Building work by Penge east station

[Philcarter71]

Hi, does anybody know what the new shop will be that's by the newsagents? Cheers

[Nigel]

Philcarter71
I was under the impression it was going to be a cafe / food outlet . Flurry of building in the summer then it seemed to stop . I too am puzzled .
A very good morning
Nigel

[alywin]

Well, it finally opened a week or so ago: it's a coffee etc. shop. Seems to be operating some long hours, and at weekends, too.

[Nigel]

Went in there today - perhaps early days but a bit underwhelmed- all the food seemed to be in cellophane and nothing seemed to be actually made there . I was hoping for nice pastries and fresh sandwiches . Coffee was nice .

Interestingly the booth in the station - Sheriff's- seems to be selling a really nice range of fresh looking pastries in the morning - much bettter than they did before
A very good evening .

Nigel

[alywin]

This one seems to be open 7 days a week, which I don't think Sheriff's is? Certainly it's been open at several times when the booth is closed.

[SimonVennerRoad]

The unit was repossessed last week and there is a bailiff notice on the metal shutters.
Nice people and they tried very hard but it never overcame the fundamental issue - it is on the wrong side of the tracks. In the morning ( when most people are going North ) no one hands around on the Sydenham side of the station to buy a coffee - they go to Lee’s kiosk in the ticket hall) and in the evening when most people are getting off on the South platform they don’t hang around to buy a coffee to take home. They just go home. And during the day there is hardly any passing trade. It is difficult to think what one could use that unit for to be honest.

[mosy]

It is a tricky one. Similar shop units on Syd. Station Approach suffered the same fate - no footfall for much of the day. One is now the meritable Bob's Wines, although I was thinking that a shoemenders might work, maybe with a collection point for offsite dry cleaning service arrangement, so minimal fitting out needed. A post restante for online shopping might work, but I've no idea what sort of financial license or insurance etc is required. All I can think of to make it a "go to" shop (not forgetting to good chippie is within spitting distance).

[JRW]

How about a late-opening florist, so dejected commuters can cheer themselves up after their delayed journey home.....

[milton]

In the 1970s a guy had a florist barrow on the sydenham side friday and thurs evenings,I believe he did quite well out of it.me especially and if I recall correctly opened a florist in one of the shops in that row

[SimonVennerRoad]

In the old days it would have been a taxi firm!
Please god it isn’t another flipping Estate Agent.....

[JRW]

Bike repair shop?

[Jollylolly]

A shame as his coffee was more to my liking.

Maybe a pint-sized pub so you could have a sneaky one on the way home!

[alywin]

I was thinking that a shoemenders might work, maybe with a collection point for offsite dry cleaning service arrangement, so minimal fitting out needed.

But there's a dry cleaner's on the corner ...

Sorry to see it go, but I did wonder if it was in the right location.

[The Clown]

Whilst saddened, i can’t say I am that surprised. It seemed to be lacking a clear “identity”. Obviously a coffee shop, but lacking any clear branding or soul aesthetically. It would not have had me cantering down the road to spend.Good Coffee is an expensive luxury, and I would want to be pre-sold with barista / Italian fluff, rather than just “here is a coffee shop, you can buy”.
It’s actually really hard work running such a thing in a profitable way and expensive to brand well. That combination may also not have been legislated for in the initial business plan.
The “twinning” that On The Hoof have, is a good model. I wonder whether Sugarhill, Cherry & Ice, or Kente would consider value in picking it up.

[alywin]

I notice that there's now a "coffee and flowers" (or something) shop down at Kent House station. However, crucially, it's on the "up" side of the station rather than the "down" side.

[Bovine Juice]

The coffee and flowers shop is very good. Open a bit later on Friday and sells beer, well, lager and wine too

[alywin]

I've been meaning to bump this thread for ages to say that there's now another coffee shop or something in that building - been in there since the beginning of the year, I'd guess. Called Little Things, I think. Best of luck to them.