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Paul Thomas outside the popular café |
Paul’s Café is not to council’s taste
HIS stewed chicken and rice is legendary, perhaps only surpassed by his oxtail curry.
But lunch will never be the same again for Paul Thomas’s dedicated customers. The council told him to close Paul’s Café by September which, it says, is sufficient time for him to “relocate his business”.
The White Lion Youth Centre in White Lion Street, Angel, will undergo a £3.1million facelift starting at Christmas.
Islington council leader Terry Stacy said the popular café does not fit the council’s vision for the building because it “only appeals to a specific group of young people”.
A consultation which apparently demonstrated the café’s limited appeal (it specialises “in home-made Caribbean cuisine”) has sparked protest among customers.
Michael Potten, 20, from Old Street, said: “If anything it’s one of the most culturally diverse places in Islington. The young people like it and it’s one of the things that draws people to the White Lion.
“Why change something that’s good?”
Sami Adam, 18, from Caledonian Road, said: “They’re basing this on ethnicity, which is not fair. All types of people buy stuff at the café.”
Mr Thomas, 48, said: “I command respect. The kids could be doing the worst things, I say stop doing it and they listen to me.” |
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