By Tim Dickens, Editor
Restaurants, bars and cafes in Brixton’s Granville Arcade (Brixton Village) and Market Row will stay open until 11.30pm for the first time, after a deal was struck with landlords.
This weekend saw drinkers and diners enjoy their meals without worrying about having to leave by 9.30pm after the agreement was made between traders and landlords InShops Ltd on Wednesday.
Liam Brown, who runs Seven at Brixton in Market Row, was nominated as the spokesman of an association of 30 traders that wanted to stay open past 9.30pm and sat down with representatives of InShops to secure the extension.
He told the Blog: “We got a deal that we were all happy with. We are still paying to open late but different shops will be paying different rates depending on what they do.”
“We are going to see how it goes for now.”
A row broke out last month when traders received a letter demanding an extra £75 per week if they want to stay open until 9.30pm Thursday to Saturday to cover the “significant” extra costs of keeping the markets open.
The markets will now close at 11.30pm on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, with last orders taken between 10.30pm and 11pm. Extra security has been drafted in to help manage the late night opening.
