Coldean is to have its first café when the Larches opens on Friday (3 October).
The café is being opened by Impact Initiatives, in partnership with Hanover Housing and the TDC (Trust for Developing Communities), in New Larchwood in Waldron Avenue.
The opening will be part of the Older People’s Day celebrations taking place throughout Brighton from today (Monday 29 September) to Sunday (5 October).
The vicar of St Mary Magdalen in Coldean, the Reverend Betsy Gay-Hammond, will cut the ribbon at 9am and be served the first cup of coffee.
There will be a programme of events running throughout the day, until 3.30pm, and tea and coffee will be free to customers between 9am and 10am.
Impact’s older people’s services manager Donna Bailey said: “The Larches Café will be the first of its kind in Coldean serving the local community every Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 9am to 3.30pm.
“Come and join us for a light lunch, soup or freshly prepared sandwich, or enjoy a delicious slice of cake with a fresh latte or cappuccino prepared by our new chef Andy.
“All food is cooked on the premises and is affordably priced.”
Impact said that the new café would be a great boost for the local community giving them somewhere to meet, socialise and have a healthy meal.
The charity said that it was the first of its kind and would be open to all ages on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 9am to 3.30pm.
It will serve light lunches, homemade sandwiches, soup and cake plus fresh coffee at affordable prices.
Chef Andrew Barnett has been recruited to run the café, Impact said, adding: “It is the only café in Coldean and will also host a number of community groups and activities.”
Few people live above freehold shops and cafes any more to make it cost effective to have neighbourhood cafes alas. Don’t know what Paris is like these days, but it used to be famous for its cosy neighbourhood cafes.
It is truly appalling that any area should be without such facilities – especially now the local pubs are ‘disparu’. But as well as this initiative there is a planning way of creating community corners. When blocks of flats go up, their ground floor areas should have corner cafes with outdoor table space designed in that has its overheads absorbed by the building in some way so it can be permanently available to the community. It also helps create a “lively frontage”.
If you want ‘lively frontage’ I gather Little Preston Street at 2am is the best place.