Having taken over the lease at 40 London Road in February, after the building had remained unoccupied for 5-6 months, the Village Cafe has been forced to apply for a change of licence from A1 to A3.
The Village Cafe occupies the same floor space as its predecessor, the service counter remains the same, as does the kitchen and toilets but Deli Lavelle, the previous occupant of the premises, held an A1 licence which classified it as a sandwich bar.
The Village Cafe have been informed they require an A3 licence which applies to restaurants, pubs, snack bars, cafes, wine bars and shops selling hot food, so they have had to apply retrospectively for a change of use.
Ali Isit, who owns Konak and runs the Village Cafe with his business partner Firat Altindag, said "We had a visit from the council who said we needed to apply for an A3 licence because we have too many tables and chairs for an A1 licence and we can’t cook any food on the premises under the current licence. So at the moment we are just serving sandwiches and hot drinks, anything which requires cooking is prepared over the road at Konak.
“We are pleased with how well the cafe has been received but if we can obtain an A3 licence and permission to add an extraction unit in the kitchen then we will start to offer cooked breakfasts and a lunchtime menu similar to that which is currently available at Konak. This will make the Village Cafe busier and enable us to close Konak at lunchtime, which will be preferable as we are opening a new cafe in Manchester towards the end of July."
According to their application for a licence variation “The proposal involves very little physical change apart from the kitchen extract duct which will discharge above the eaves of the building”. The application also applies for permission to have tables outside.
The application, number 10/0884M, was discussed at this week’s Alderley Edge Parish Council meeting where it was decided that the Parish Council will object to the licence being granted on the grounds that it upsets the retail mix in the village, which they feel should be 60% retail and 40% restaurants/bars.
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Comments
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The Village Cafe has turned round a derelict unit on London Road and made it into a thriving business and also a friendly place for the community and visitors to the village to meet for coffee or a bite to eat…. and all that in the middle of an economic depression! When will the Parish Council realise that we need to SUPPORT business in our community FULL STOP! This kind of blinkered decision making does absolutely nothing to help!
While I’m on a roll, I can’t believe that the Licence application for Corks Out to serve wine for consumption on the premises is also being opposed!? Can we start petitions to support both of these Licence applications for the Village Cafe and Corks Out?
I’m going to try and calm down a bit now!
If you go to places like Freemantle in Australia they make a great virtue of their cosmopolitan cafe culture. It's a USP which brings people into the area and creates an upward spiral of growth and vitality. What our Parish Council seems to want to do is lock us up in some Victorian Temperance movement time warp. Keep on with this small minded behaviour and you will get your 60:40 split.... 60% boarded up.
With our beautiful natural environment and the cafe culture this should be one of the hottest tourist spots in Britain.
The one thing about the Village Cafe is that you can actually go for a casual sandwich lunch and that is what ladies want, as we have to cook in the evening and it would be nice to have a glass of wine if entertaining a friend.
Problem is - bar and grill starters are too small and main courses too large if have to eat again in evening, ditto Gusto.
Can anyone find another place similar to Konak cafe that is licensed - no, so we need something different that will will work.
I know a lot of my friends are within walking distance of the village. The alternative is Wilmslow, but are we trying to keep this village alive, so what difference does it make, just look at Wilmslow and Knutsford and count up licences.
The kitchen is now fitted out so they are serving breakfasts as well as a selection of hot meals such as Steak and Chips, Grilled Cajun Chicken and Fish Cakes.