More tea, Brockers?

Jeremy: "If you build it, they will come". That's my market research.
Mark: Field of Dreams? A man who builds a baseball field in his backyard for ghosts? That's your role model?
- Peep Show

A new café will open early next year at The Tea Factory.

Called ‘The Tea Factory’ it will occupy the vacant corner unit, nearest Brockley Cross. We knew that the site had always been targeted as a possible café, but we imagined that the recession had killed that prospect for the foreseeable future. Never knowingly pessimistic, this is one occasion when we underestimated the regeneration underway in SE4.

Caroline has been in touch to tell us about her plans – she joins a group of new local entrepreneurs that includes Felix at The Talbot, Raymond at The Brockley Mess and Ross at Browns of Brockley, all putting their faith in the strength of the local market.

The plans sound great and, as well as providing a new option in this part of Brockley, they will be reclaiming the pavement area from the cars and vans that have been using that part of Brockley Cross as an elephant graveyard. She tells us:

“We are a family run business and are opening a bespoke tea and coffee shop at The Tea Factory in Brockley Cross. We’ll be opening in January or February.

“We’ll be serving Illy coffee and we’re working on finding a truly English brand of tea, together with home made cakes and dishes of the day.

“The menus will be designed by chef Dan Lucas. He is currently teaching the chefs of tomorrow at the Shooters Hill Post 16 Campus. Dan has had a wealth of experience in the trade including many years at Chez Bruce just down the road in Wandsworth. The ingredients will be sourced from Borough Market, Riverford and Abel & Cole to ensure we are getting the freshest fruit and vegetables available and of course this will also ensure the products are fair-trade. We’ll start off with a limited food menu, with nothing costing more than a fiver.

“We’ll be refurbishing the shop with the emphasis on quality and comfort. We’ll also be making use of the pavement area.

“We’re really excited about bringing a new café to the area - it has a great community atmosphere and we believe it's up-and-coming. We hope the people of Brockley will be impressed and supportive and we look forward to meeting them!”
In light of the long (some would say tedious) debates about kids in cafes that have taken place here and here, we thought we’d better ask Caroline what kind of balance they’ll be striking at The Tea Factory.

She said:

“We are actually providing a safe area down the side of the shop to park buggies (there will be a CCTV camera on that area with a screen inside) and will be offering a few special options for kids.

“Of course, we would also hope the parents make sure their kids don’t run riot, so that other customers can enjoy the space too.”
We look forward to hearing more from Caroline as her plans progress.

By the way, this news isn’t what this was all about.

Browns of Brockley blog

Browns of Brockley, the new deli on Coulgate Street, has launched a blog ahead of the shop's imminent opening.

Brockley Central has been resisting the temptation to pester Ross, the proprietor, about how he's getting on. The shop is gradually taking shape, with something new in the window every time we walk past and his twitter updates give plenty of clues as to the eventual menu, opening date and his stress levels.

His first entry is about Roundwood Orchard Pig Farm and as well as offering us a picture of his ridiculously cute dog, he's signed off with a message to us all:

"Just on a quick sidebar, thank you to anyone that has stopped by the shop and said nice things or even if you've just looked in the window and smiled. sorry it has taken so long but I wanted to create an exciting shop with exciting produce, unfortunately that all takes time."

"I probably won't update this until the shop opens as i'm preparing for a week of unadulterated stress, however I really am going to commit to posting once a week."

It's encouraging to see local businesses embracing the potential of the internet to engage with its customers and to see that Ross is so passionate about his work - let's hope both things pay off.

Braxfield: Brockley Boomtown

Courtesy of Ross comes the news that St Cyprian's is not the only Brockley / Braxfield Road site targeted for residential redevelopment.

Estate Agents Kalmars is advertising an L-shaped plot just behind Brockley Road, accessible via an innocuous entrance opposite Morley's chicken emporium. Currently a warehouse, it has planning permission for three apartments and one house to be built on site.

Bridge House - Completion September 2010

A couple of weeks ago, we were contacted by a parent of a child at John Stainer, who said that she'd been told by the school that the Bridge House development on Mantle Road (adjoining platform 1 of Brockley Station) would feature a Tesco on the ground floor. She asked us whether we knew anything about it.

The plans have always included retail for the ground floor, but this is the first time we'd heard any suggestion that a supermarket chain would use the site.

After speaking to a number of very pleasant people at the Tesco press office, we were referred to the press officer responsible for small stores in the area. Unfortunately, that's where the trail went cold - repeated calls to voicemail yielded zero response.

So we tried another route and contacted the developers, the L&Q Housing Association.

As well as confirming that the building is due to be completed in September 2010, they stated that they have "not yet entered into any agreements over the commercial use."

Of course, "not yet" does not mean it never will, however, the site seems poorly-suited to the needs of a supermarket chain. The small Tesco on Lewisham Way relies on multiple deliveries by lorry each day, whereas the Bridge House site is served only by a narrow road, with no parking and lorry traffic limited by a low bridge next door. The rear of the site faces on to the railway tracks.

Thanks to L&Q for their help and it's good news to hear that the project is on track for completion next year.

Ladywell Tandoori, Ladywell Road

Ladywell Tandoori
81 Ladywell Road
SE13 7JA
020 86901047‎

BC review to follow. Please post your comments and reviews here.

Brockley View - Death and Restoration?

“A sense of humor always withers in the presence of the messianic delusion, like justice and truth in front of patriotic passion.”

- HL Mencken

Is Brockley Road about to be the subject of an application to redevelop St Cyprian's church hall as a seven storey mixed-use development?

Following the auction of the church and some adjacent buildings, Brockley Central received this message from someone purporting to represent the buyers. This was the message:

Hopefully the council will allow the demolition of the hall so that the plans for the seven-floor residential apartment block with shops below can commence as soon as possible. Brockley View is an exciting project that will make that portion of the road vibrant and pleasant for all.

Manti Properties

The whole thing could be an elaborate ruse of course, but the site went for much more than the asking price, which suggests a commercially-minded developer snapped it up. We'd be fairly relieved if it's not being resurrected as a church (evangelical outfits are crawling all over south east London) but, though neglected, the building itself has potential and of course there will be many who shudder at the very notion of a 7 storey building. On the other hand, a well-conceived development could rescue a struggling parade.

Google's got nothing on "Manti Properties", unless they happen to be based in Utah and "Brockley View" throws up no useful leads either. If you're from the developers, please get in touch, the address is here.

Deptford X 2009: Flux

The Deptford X arts festival is back for its eleventh year, revelling in the area's new-found status as "London's wild west", courtesy of the New York Times.

The programme started this weekend and runs until October 4th. Highlights this year include 'Deptford as a Vector' (street art scattered throughout Deptford and converging at its centre) and 'Corridor' at Lewisham Arts House (four interconnected installations lurking in the depths of the building).

You can visit the official site here or join the Facebook group here, but Deptford Dame does the best job of capturing the eclectic nature of the X, with her preview here.