What DO we want on Northcote Road??? Locked

[jonathan @ hamptons]

Hi Julian,

The café site is the one I mentioned before, and has had some comments on here. I believe it is a new branch of Park Kitchen chicken restaurant which is a fab local business. As I understand it, the old antique shop (Carey's Antiques) is being extended into by Turquoise travel (who ever thought that travel agents would make a comeback on the high street - you never know, maybe Woolworths will make an appearance soon!!).

The 'Caspian' site is the old Lola Roco restaurant and I'm so disappointed that it's taking so long - I grew up in the middle east so have been very much looking forward to the new offering. From talking to the builders it is still going ahead but they have had various delays which is why it's been closed for so long.

Has anyone tried the new restaurant next to Franco Manca - it looks very simple but very good...?

Jonathan

[Alchemy]

The 'Caspian' site is the old Lola Roco restaurant and I'm so disappointed that it's taking so long

Same here, it was initially supposed to open in June (!), and the latest I heard from the owners was 30 September -- which clearly also hasn't happened.

The pictures they post on their Facebook page look mouthwatering, and it will bring much-needed variety to Northcote Road.

That said, I have doubts it will last: Somehow it seems too specialised a cuisine for everyday use, and if people only go once in a while for a "special treat" I doubt it'll make rent. (The rather excellent Turkish restaurant next to Franco Manca didn't last very long at all either.)

Has anyone tried the new restaurant next to Franco Manca - it looks very simple but very good...?

It's on my "to do" list, interesting concept but the menu looks a bit too simplistic. Hopefully they'll rotate dishes on a regular basis.

[BTCdad]

FIXED next to Franco Manca is great. Simple food executed well and perfect for a mid week supper. It's owned by the same people as Franco Manca.

The shops on St John's Hill seem to be going even more down market and goodness knows what the Mountain Warehouse space will become...

[Goldhawk]

There seemed to be a newish baby clothes shop where Aspace used to be (next to cath kidston)

[Alchemy]

There seemed to be a newish baby clothes shop where Aspace used to be (next to cath kidston)

That's Mamas and Papas' new "concept" store: http://www.mummyinthecity.com/mamas-and ... cote-road/

[Goldhawk]

Hmmm it wasn't exactly clear what they were offering so maybe they need a new visual merchandiser!

[manlaurli]

Hi Julian,

The café site is the one I mentioned before, and has had some comments on here. I believe it is a new branch of Park Kitchen chicken restaurant which is a fab local business. As I understand it, the old antique shop (Carey's Antiques) is being extended into by Turquoise travel (who ever thought that travel agents would make a comeback on the high street - you never know, maybe Woolworths will make an appearance soon!!).

The 'Caspian' site is the old Lola Roco restaurant and I'm so disappointed that it's taking so long - I grew up in the middle east so have been very much looking forward to the new offering. From talking to the builders it is still going ahead but they have had various delays which is why it's been closed for so long.

Has anyone tried the new restaurant next to Franco Manca - it looks very simple but very good...?

Jonathan

Hi,
The restaurant next to fRanco Manca is just amazing! Best burger ever ... I am so difficult with beef mince and I was amazingly surprised! Very nice staff, very good starters ... A+

[manlaurli]

It is possible to have independents shops? and a real bakery!!!!!

[juliantenniscoach]

Yep, if you have a lot of start up cash, a high margin product and you can change the buying habits of NVN from online to high street. I'm as guilty as anyone for online shopping by the way.

[RORO84]

There is a cash machine inside of The Cooperative that's free to withdraw.

[BFW]

People have been talking for years about how the main issue with Northcote Road is the greedy landlords asking for exorbitant rents. So I am hoping that the numerous empty shops will result in a much needed adjustment to the rental prices and hopefully this in turn might then result in some smaller independent shops opening again ? These landlords must be losing so much money on these empty shops.

It would be so sad to see more shops closing down.

[szerma]

It seems like most of the restaurants and cafes on Northcote Road are doing well (at least on the stretch between Battersea Rise and, say, Salcott Road). Bill's is always heaving and so is everyone else, bar the newly opened ones which haven't yet built up a clientele (a vote from me for FIXED as well - great little place, simple menu but delicious).

I happen to live around the corner from the old Mayoral shop and it's sad to see it empty for so long! I would have thought Pret or any other "take away" food shop would do well, and would complement the Bread Stall traffic.

From living in the area, it appears to me that we are spending (and saving) money shopping online for goods, but we continue to spend money in the shops and restaurants, so why aren't there more opening in lieu of the empty shops?

M

[Northcote12]

Hi, went to Fixed the other night and it was really good! There seems to be a high turnover of shops but the new ones opening always seem to be better than the ones they replace, though refurbishement always seems to take ages. Not the same quality on saint johns road where quite a few shops have been replaced by tacky mobile phone pop ups (apart from the recent and promising replacement of a pawnbroker by spanish restaurant casa manolo which looks yummy)!
Really the one unexplainable bit is the madrighal shop as you say which has been empty for soooo long. Maybe 2 years? I don't buy the greedy landlord stuff how can it be greedy to be losing two years of rent? Are we going to have another year of christmas pop up followed by a to let sign for the other 11 months? Anybody has an explanation?

Anyway, overall i think northcote road is lovely and it is hard to think of another road with such nice food shops and restaurants anywhere else in zone 2 to be honest.

[jonathan @ hamptons]

Most of the shops on Northcote Road were bought cheaply in the 1970's and early 1980's so generally cost the landlords very little. Once the landlords drop the rent they are stuck with that rent for 20 or 30 years (albeit with marginal rent reviews every 5 years) so their desire to reduce the rent is minimal. I moved here in 1996 and I was offered the whole building of Edward James the hairdresser for £225,000 and that included the three bedroom flat above so even then it wasn't that expensive.

The difficulty with the Mayoral shop is twofold, first of all it's a very deep shop with limited window frontage, and secondly the Breadstall blocks out any perceived 'high street' frontage from passing traffic. Anyone looking to come to Northcote Road for the first time will simply choose somewhere else without the permanence of the Breadstall in front of them. As szerma says, if only someone could figure out some offering for it which would complement the Breadstall queues then they will have cracked it!!

Jonathan

[Northcote12]

Thank you very much Jonathan, this is very useful. It s a bit of s crazy situation then, with a thriving business which is in a stall because shop rents are too high right opposite a shop that has been empty for two years.
The problem is that it isn't a single landlord with the interest of the street as a whole at heart but a multitude of individual ones.
Anyway i wish the estate agent was at least keeping this empty shop tidy it looks a bit of a mess (at least the scattered mannequin parts are gone).
Luckily it s not all like that and most of the shops are lovely!