It would appear that another shop has sadly bitten the dust. The locksmiths on Westow Street has not been open for over a week now. The shop is empty and there is a 'To Let' sign in the window. This is a real, real shame. That shop had been in the area for over 30 years, and about 3 years ago was taken over by a lovely guy (never learned his name) who lived in Chichester and would come up to run the shop each day. I used to just pop in for a chat now and again. He'll be missed.

Oh no! That's a real shame. It was a great establishment and one place where you could guarantee that the keys you had cut would actually work (unlike some of the Croydon 'heel bars' where I am convinced that they cut your keys with a chainsaw )

JGX

I've used them quite a bit - that's a real shame.

Is it the curse of the one way again?

I went in there once or twice and have to say I never found the guy helpful or friendly. The shop had very little in it and looked like it was clsoing down anyway - not a good look if you're trying to attract custom. Not surprised it's gone and has very little to do with one way system I would have thought.

I used them just over a year ago and found them very professional. Shame to hear they've closed.

I could never see the point in a shop like that taking up space. It could be put to much better use by, say, an estate agent.

It's true. Streets Ahead have bought the Locksmiths. They're planning to expand their new cafe to include a pizzeria. Customers will be able to enjoy some garlic bread or perhaps a Quattro Formaggi followed by an espresso whilst they browse for a property. They're planning to expand further, knocking through to Domali and perhaps down to Merlin Shoes by 2009.

I for one will never use anything associated with streets ahead ever again.

Shame regards the locksmith hope he does better in his new business !

Dazza

Hi

Not sure if this has been covered elsewhere but I noticed that they have started the refurbishment of the former locksmith shop in Westow Street. Any idea what's opening there?

Some time ago Penny in Cooper Giles told me it is being refurbished for leasing out, but there was no word as to who was interested then.

Does anyone know why the locksmith closed in the first place? It was run by a lovely guy who made the commute to and from Chichester each day. I suppose that just became too much for him in the end...

Hi All,

In answer to your question, I was talking to Peter Cooper of Cooper Giles last week and he told me that he has been told that it is to be let as a high end chocolate shop. Not sure who though. I hope that his information is correct and it should be, especially as he is the letting agent. I hope that the new tenants idea of high end chocolate is not 99p easter eggs!!!!!!!!!!!1

Best regards,

fingers crossed for a thorntons...although i may be in danger of putting on a bit of weight for the summer!

please, please now let's use our imagination here! I would rather it was not a Thorntons, you can buy their stuff on virtually every high street in this land. A good independent chocolatier would suit our area very well indeed. The Triangle benefits from some quite beautiful architecture, aswell as the surrounding area. If this shopping area is to be great it needs a good mixture of high street names, suppling things that we all need and plenty of smaller independents for the luxury treats; a selection of good restaurants/cafes bars etc etc. You need the estate agents (a few less though)... and it looks like it is all going in this direction anyway.

Chocolate? yum yum yum

Lovely, lets hope this is correct (although I will miss the locksmith).

Perhaps we can expect a Hotel Chocolat. They have a branch in The Glades Bromley http://www.hotelchocolat.co.uk/ very nice, more a gift shop. I think a Thorntons may be more suitable for the area and, if they install a tea room in the shop we can look forward to choccie fondue and an ice cream parlour too, just in time for summer.

http://www.montezumas.co.uk/

wishful thinking?

I'm not mad about chocolate but someone gave me a few bars of Montezumas once and it was absolutely lovely.

I think a chocolate shop would be a great addition to the area. By all accounts, the dedicated old-fashioned sweet shop in Dulwich does very well.

Must admit my first reaction was "what on earth for?"... but the more I think about it, I can see that a shop like that would appeal to many people. I'm not into chocolate in the slightest but I know lots of people are. Whether it would be a sustainable long-term business on the triangle remains to be seen. So thumbs up. I also think a good quality florist would be a good addition to the triangle.

Would love a florist. So much so, I thought about starting one myself every time I walked past the empty one near the Hollybush. Until I realised it would take knowledge, skill and severely committed funds. Which was a bit of a blow.

We've got a flourist inbetween Westow House and Cafe St Germain.

http://www.hopeandgreenwood.co.uk/ would be a nice addition to our 'village'...

Of course we have! Rarely down that way when it's open so forgot all about it.

How nice to have an instant wish come true!

Chocolate shop it is then. As long as you take online orders as well these days, you should be able to maintain a specialist shop.

Never been down there so I didn't know there was a florist there either

A chocolate shop like the one in the film Chocolat would be nice... the more I think about it, the more I am taken with the idea of a good quality chocolate shop. Yey!

Re florists, Allen didn't exactly last long and that shop unit is still empty after all this time. I love the idea of us having our own chocolate shop, although I have enough trouble locating my waist as it is. I shall certainly be making some impulse buys as long as it's not ruinously expensive. I always ogle the window displays in Choccywoccydoodah when I go past their shop in Brighton, but I don't actually go in and buy anything. Still, it's all good!

Allen's didn't close because of a lack of business...

I would imagine one of the benefits a chocolate shop would bring is an attractive shop front.

Choccywoccydoodah -- oh memories ... I dated on of their chefs years back .... nice Caaaakkeeeeesssss!!!!

Walked past this morning and they were painting the front. There was a notice with a name starting with "F". Could have been Feast but brain is like a sieve today. Apols for tantalising details...

Foxtons Chocolatiere?

I saw the notice too. It is going to be called Feast, and as well as luxury chocolate and easter eggs they're also going to be selling speciality teas, extra virgin olive oils, posh vinegars, etc.

Must be opening fairly soon if they're hoping to shift lots of easter eggs.

WHAT? This is too good news for that little stretch. I don't believe it!

Feast it is. I can't wait as I think it will really brighten up the place. Lovely.

they were handing in flyers outside GH station ... it looks so nice and sleek - hand made truffles ..... thank goodness we have a big park where we can go and run ....

It is good news, and something different too, but I do worry if it can be a success here. Fingers crossed.

I have only got one comment :

I just heard that it's actually called Feast Ahead and you only get a hand made chocolate if you buy one for 260 thousand pound and get a house free!

I'm really happy that a small business has come into the area, and such a breath of fresh air from all the estate agents and new wine bars.... Heres hoping them every success, they will be on top of my list for easter munchies.....

As a severe chocoholic I couldn't be any happier, that's brilliant news. I hope their shopfront will be as delicious as their handmade truffles look on their flyer. For those who don't have the flyer they say they'll stock 'luxury chocolates & chocolate truffles, speciality teas, coffees & drinking chocolate, extra virgin & flavoured olive oils, marinated and stuffed olives, balsamic vinegar'. I just hope it's affordable, thus be able to stay open for many years to come. Good luck to the owners & welcome to the Triangle!

On a related note I drove past on Tuesday Pm and there was a guy on the other side of the street taking photo's of the unfinished shop front and the fitters. He then crossed the road, turned arround and took pictures of the empty Allen's unit

No idea what it was about but I hope it wasn't the start of another episode of the Council raising some stupid point about the shop front like they did over Domali's shutters. I am all for maintaining the conservation status but the Council only ever seem to invoke this on simple cases - never when it comes to planning decisions like the exterior look of the development by the post office or in getting scaffolding taken down when it has been up for years without a licence.

Any way good luck to them

The council routinely take photos of shop fronts for their own files. We do too (see photo library) but local organisations such as the CPCA sometimes put photos of new shops in their newsletters. It wasn't me on this occasion but I suppose we may find out who else it may have been soon enough. My best guess would be the CPCA.

All,

I can confirm that the shopfront and paint job is only a temp fix and it is due to be replaced within the next month or two, so that it fits in with the conservation requirements. Not sure exactly what they are, but suspect that the Council has a stringent guideline for this. Wooden framework, set stallriser heights etc. As to who the photographer was, who knows?

Bought some tea in Feast today! For you choc lovers out there, they stock Montezuma's....!

Bought some chocky - double YUMMI!!! and some olives which are absolutely gorgeous .... used them for cooking.

Price wise is not every day stuff but I would definitely treat myself with their stuff regularly

btw it's called Feast not Feast Ahead (?)

very nioce and friendly people too ...

I think Silver was quipping that Streets Ahead would soon own the whole block, LSPE! Incidentally, has anyone else noticed that their cafe has a 'temporarily closed' sign on the door?!

Oh, and I can recommend Feast's Buck's Fizz truffles (containing Space Dust!)

Myself and Mrs Syenite had a bit of a look around Feast today and theres no doubt that the choccies look A1. They also have a decent looking selection of fair trade teas and coffees and a few other gourmet items. Its all a bit sparse looking at the mo' but thats to be expected for their first weekend trading.

I hope they are able to build up a healthy following. Admittedly i didnt buy anything but I'm sure i will soon enough!

I got a HUGE bag of organic fairtrade coffee beans for £7, which I didn't think was too bad. They have oils and vinegars there too, which I will try in due course...

Do they stock rococo chocolates?

If not they should as they are alsoa local company.... and they run a chocolate school in the area

http://www.rococochocolates.com/page/choc_school

How exciting, I can't wait to start buying my Easter stuff from there

Does anyone know if they have a website at all, just for research purposes obviously, not just because I want to oggle all the wonderful chocolate

I visited Feast yesterday and bought some of their Kopi Luwak coffee. It's not cheap - £15 for 50g but is deemed to be the rarest coffee in the world and certainly has an interesting story behind it! Apparently, the process makes it less bitter as it removes the acidity and it definitely tastes very smooth.

I also bought some truffles - very nice but my other half makes the most amazing homemade truffles, which are hard to beat!

I think this is a great addition to the triangle - it's a real treat for people who love good chocolate, coffee, tea and oils. I've got my eye on some balsamic vinegar next.

sounds interesting - is the coffee good for coffee machines? or just filtered coffee? (I did hear about this before btw)