COFFEE SHOP FOR SYDENHAM ON HSBC SITE!!!

[Weeble]

Middle class Tsar, I love it, that just made me laugh out loud.

[randomv]

Why on earth do people want to kill off the few independent cafes we have by welcoming a chain? Starbucks and Cafe Nero are overpriced and depressing, they're just better marketed.

Completely agree Castiron73, as I said, I'd much rather have a Domalis than a Caffe Nero, but the fact of the matter is that opening such a place in Sydenham HAS to be classed as a risk at the moment, so it would take an independent with potentially very deep pockets to be able to wait and see a return.

The owners of The Dolphin will have had the huge advantage of knowing quite how many of their customers at TDA live in Sydenham and would therefore patronise their latest establishment. Other potential investors may find it harder. Hope I'm wrong!

[castiron73]

But why do you want it to be a coffee shop at all? Can't you get frothy coffee in Zucker and the sandwich shop by Sema's. They're tiny, I know, but I imagine they'll be doing lunchtime coffeee in the Dolphin soon?
If not, someone could be brave and ask them, or send anonymous letters.

Dear owner
Please start serving your coffee in paper buckets or giant mugs. Claim to use fairtrade coffee beans even though it might not be true. Let me queue up twice for the privilege - first to pay, then to collect. Please add 'iato' to the end of every English word on the menu to make it sound Italian. Let me pay £6 for a ciabatta roll made in a warehouse near the M25 then super-chilled to remove all taste and give it the consistency of a bathroom sponge. Make all your staff wear a silly uniform and utter greetings that sound at odds with their naturally sullen East European expressions.
Yours, Middle Class Tsar

Wasn't there a South Park episode about this?
Slatters has the room and could invest in a coffee machine with the profit from one birthday cake. I know it feels like being in a school dinner queue in there at the moment but you could retrain the old dears as baristas.

[randomv]

Slatters has the room and could invest in a coffee machine with the profit from one birthday cake. I know it feels like being in a school dinner queue in there at the moment but you could retrain the old dears as baristas.

Ah yes,Slatters....where I was acknowledged with a "What?" in place of a "Hello,how can I help you?" last time I popped in for a loaf. Don't get me wrong,I don't expect or want to be over-zealously greeted whilst going about my shopping, but neither do I expect to be resentfully served by a yoof who'd clearly much rather be out earning an ASBO.

For me though, it all comes down to wanting a bit of choice and variety. Zuckers is great..if you can get a table..I'm sure I will love The Dolphin, but it doesn't mean I ALWAYS want to go to the pub, or that sometimes I don't fancy a coffee and a slice of cake instead of a beer. OK,that last bit is rarely true..

[leaf]

"Not me this time Leaf?

I have been rather restrained."

No not this time greg,you have been behaving yourself of late

[biscuitman1978]

My wife and I are in the nebulous stages of planning a cake/coffee shop (our ideas may eventually come to nothing if we cannot persuade the chef we have in mind to come down here). We had not thought of the HSBC site. In any event, I think we are about a year away and it may be too late for that particular site, although I agree it would be an excellent site for a coffee shop. Does anyone have any info as to who might be handling the letting of the premises and what kind of planning consent it has? I am afraid this is all rather new to me (in terms of sources of information) but a lead would be nice.

Thanks in advance

Not sure who is handling the letting of this building, but a useful first port of call might be http://www.egpropertylink.com, on which many agents list available commercial premises. Hope that helps.

[biscuitman1978]

For me though, it all comes down to wanting a bit of choice and variety. Zuckers is great..if you can get a table..I'm sure I will love The Dolphin, but it doesn't mean I ALWAYS want to go to the pub, or that sometimes I don't fancy a coffee and a slice of cake instead of a beer. OK,that last bit is rarely true..

I agree, randomv. It's all about having a choice. The new Dolphin is fantastic, but if I want to watch the football you'll find me in one of other pubs in Sydenham. Similarly, I think Zuckers is great and I often spend Saturday lunchtime there with coffee, sandwich and newspaper, but I'd still like to see another coffee shop. If that was one of the big chains then great - I've no doubt it would act as a catalyst for investment in the town centre from both independent and more established retailers.

[JoeP]

Good idea JohnC. I emailed Café Nero and had a positive reply from them. It would be great to get some decent businesses like this into the area. I suspect that if they did well others would surely follow and then we could all celebrate the demise of the poundshops & nail bars that blight the area

[leaf]

"The council flat end of Sydenham really drags the place down. I would rather have 50 pound shops, chip shops etc if the Council flats and foul mouthed ruffians were gone."

Samuel,which end are you talking about?

Last time i looked there were several council estates[with flats] ALL OVER SYDENHAM.

[castiron73]

Talking of emailing businesses, I emailed Somerfield again recently to ask if they were going to do up the store as a Market Fresh style one, now the high street is getting a facelift, and complaining about the lack of organic meat and groceries on offer.
They're doing the store up next year, they told me, but didn't say it was going to be a Market Fresh one definitely.

They also said the store managers find there's a lot of wastage if they stock organic produce. I said it didn't surprise me because the three tiny baskets of organic veg they do stock is always hidden away behind piles of BOGOFs for unhealthy snacks.

The worthwhile campaign by the SydSoc failed to get them to launch the store as a Market Fresh one but perhaps it's worth everyone writing to them again. Some of my neighbours wouldn't be seen dead in Somerfield and it does seem barely a step up from Lidl, the way it advertises the fact it is cheap over anything else. We need to convince them they would attract MORE custom if it looked posher.

[Jeannie]

A coffee shop on the HSBC Bank site is a brilliant idea for a number of selfish reasons:

1. I live on Venner Road and could get there in 2 seconds

2. I love my coffee (it's an addiction, I'm on 4 or 5 a day) and would love not to have to trudge into town to get a decent cuppa, and any excuse to get out of the house and sit in a coffee shop all day on a weekend is a bonus

3. I'm a huge fan of Starbucks (sorry!), but would love for a small business to set up there, like a coffee/cake/organic shop; I'd be hooked and be their best customer!


Can't believe I didn't think of this before... a coffee shop would be brilliant!

[Jo Christie-Smith]

A few nights ago I was walking past Hazel Grove by the Hexagon housing building and some of the youths were throwing projectiles from the estate there (thankfully it was dark so I couldn't see what on earth it was nor did I want to think about it...) at passing residents and traffic.

Now I'm sure bleeding heart Liberals will say it's because there's nothing for them to do but the fact reamins it was late and they were clearly un-supervised and should have been in bed and I shouldn't have to dodge 'that' when performing the basic task of making my way home. I decided not to buy a poperty on Oaksford Avenue a few years back as something similar happened whilst viewing the property for the third time.
.

Greg,

Have you told your local Safer Neighbourhood team. The details for the Sydenham Town one is: 020 8649 3598 or 07843 065921, but if it's not on Sydenham Town's patch, you can go to the Met's Website there's a whole load of stuff on Safer Neighbourhoods.

I chair the Crystal Palace Ward Residents Panel and the sort of stuff that you mention there is just what they need to know about - then they can do something about it.

I think a coffee shop would be fabulous, whether a Cafe Nero or something stylish and local a la Domali or even La Bruschetta in CP.

I would definitely go in there for 'on the way to work' cup of coffee!! It would really encourage trade around there - albeit the very middle class type!!