By Will Bedingfield
A new venture called Champagne and Fromage has been granted an alcohol licence for a unit in Granville Arcade.
The shop and winetasting bar was granted the licence by Lambeth Council sub-committee on Tuesday evening.
It will take over the the site currently occupied by Faiz Food Store, at 10-11 Granville Arcade.
In April, neighbours of Brixton’s covered markets called on Lambeth council to create a saturation zone to control the number of new licensed premises in the area. Brixton Society have also expressed concern at the amount of new bars and cafes in the market, which they say threaten the diversity which makes it so special.
In a statement earlier this year, Bill Linskey, chairman of Brixton Society commented: “There is nothing wrong with having some bars and cafes in a market area; they can add some variety and vibrancy. However Brixton’s unique market character can only be preserved if it remains essentially a retail market.”
Champagne and Bubbles owner Stefano Frigerio, who already owns one branch of Champagne and Fromage in Covent Garden, insists “It will not be posh”.
“We only have champagne from small producers, not brands not marketing that are perfect for matching cheese and charcuterie. All our products are directly imported from France from small producers and not available in other places in London.
“We are mostly a shop with some tables to try our products. We will be open from morning till evening to develop the spirit of the market.
Firoz Akkuji, owner of Faiz Food Store, told Brixton Blog he welcomed Champagne and Fromage and that he didn’t feel he was being pushed out. He added that he is only moving his business over the road.
You can view the full application here.
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Pedants’ corner – Please could you check your use of English in the first two paragraphs in particular license/licence
The shop has been granted a licence (noun)
Now that is has been granted its licence it is licensed (verb) to sell alcohol
“It will not be posh”. Yeah, riiiight.
Very welcome addition to the market. Brixton is changing and so should the services it offers. The fact that Granville Arcade was pretty much unoccupied and left to go derelict before Brixton Village is a case point that the market forces in Brixton are changing. Maybe Brixton Society should knock on a few doors and listen to what people really want rather than being lobbied by the traders who have their own interests at heart.
Gareth—very very good point. The only vaguely decent chippy I can think of is over by Clapham North.
I like the contradictory paragraph following his claim that “It will not be posh”.
Brixton could do with a decent chippy.