Quick pub update: Tommyfield + Old Red Lion

The Tommyfield pub finally launched itself last Friday and is now officially open for business. In case I didn't get to the bottom of it, the pub has been named after the first British Fish and Chip shop, which opened in Oldham (so not really very SE11-related). I was going to go along to the launch, but it looked /so/ crowded from the outside on the launch night, and I am very shy (tee hee), so I haven't yet been in. They're still serving British food, although at apparently more reasonable prices. London Appetizer has visited and listed some rather delicious sounding fare. Asparagus with fried duck egg and toast, rabbit confit and Eton mess all make my list of "must tries", but that would set me back £25. It's not cheap, but is reasonably well-priced by London standards. Keith Barker has written a cheeky not-quite-review, mentioning our Kylie Appreciation Society!! I shall try and eat there soon and post a review once I've done so. Visit their website for more on their food, and drink offerings.

On to the next pub-refurbishment... The Old Red Lion now has a banner up outside, proudly proclaiming that it's re-opening on 11 June. They have a website, but the pub is still listed as "coming soon" in a somewhat tantalising manner. In the meantime, you can observe on Twitter their mounting minute by minute excitement as they count down days until launch! I'd like to know whether they'll be serving food, and what their "niche" market is... No more info. to report as yet.

Doing the business at Kennington Cross

I tend to save up SE11 business updates for a mass posting every so often, so that the news doesn't get too bitty, but as far as I can tell:

1. We were right in our Twitter speculation about a new estate agent, but I was wrong in my prediction that they'd take a unit on Kennington Park Road. Instead, we welcome the arrival of yet another property firm. Acorn Estate, a local business have taken up an empty unit, 317(ish) on Kennington Road. So I suppose the economic recovery must be in full swing. That makes 8 estate agents on a very small stretch of road, and all of them made it through the recession. Perhaps that means that negative equity didn't hit Kennington. I was hoping that the unit might become a Surestart, or a cup-cake shop, on the basis that if you can't have social change, you can at least eat cake.

2. Thanks to one of my long term readers who pointed out in March that a new hairdressers had opened on Cleaver Street. I wandered by, quite excitedly, to ask whether they had any info. so that I could give them some publicity, and I was given a leaflet dating back to 2007! Leave a comment if you've tried them out!

3. I'm unsure what's happening with the Locker Room. I only realised that something steamy was up when people started googling the blog in large numbers for "locker room extension". This venue is not somewhere I patronise, and I can't see that they'd welcome me either, so I'm going to have to rely on you guys to fill me in.  Edit: I spoke to somebody that works there.  They have extended from 8 Cleaver Street into 10 Cleaver Street and apparently re-opened last Tuesday (27th April).

4. The Tommyfield are all a-Twit with news of their re-opening. Go to their website and submit your details for a chance to win tickets to their opening night, some time in May.

The White Hart pub - explanation for renaming

Being well-connected online sometimes pays off.  Shortly after the post I made yesterday, I was followed on Twitter by somebody who owns a group of pubs, amongst them, The White Hart.

Here is a slightly cut down version of why there is a proposed name change for The White Hart and why the White Hart is planning to close and re-open as The Tommyfield:
* The White Hart is a very large modern space on a very busy junction. The primary argument for retaining the name would be that it is a wonderful old pub, and changing it's name would be like ripping its soul out. However, it's not felt that this is a strong argument re. The White Hart due to the fact that the pub's original interior has not been retained.

* In order for a pub to thrive, it needs a very distinct identity, in order to differentiate itself from the multitude of pubs in the area and draw people from further afield. "The White Hart" is apparently the fourth most popular pub name in the country. The owners think it makes sense for a pub to have a unique name to mark it out. A name change is recognised not to make a pub better, but it's one change among many that can galvanise a business. The White Hart will change on a multitude of fronts, and a new name is the single most direct way of communicating this change.

* The pub is in need of more significant refurbishment than originally anticipated and considerable income needs to be generated to facilitate this. Unfortunately, turnover at The White Hart has been in decline for several years (partly due to its own shortcomings. Consquently, the owners have had to take a "hard-nosed commercial view on the issue". Pubs have come under enormous pressure in recent years: the smoking ban, ever-increasing duty on alcohol, big business rate rises, escalating cost of good quality meat & fish, rising minimum wage etc etc. All of this squeezes profit margin and forces the focus to be on creating the most appealing pub possible.

The question for local SE11 residents, of course, is whether what makes a pub appealing to the general public is the same as what makes it appealing to them?

Cllr Mark Harrison has commented on the previous post on the issue of extending licencing hours that, 'The Doghouse and the Little Apple both have 1am licences on Fridays and Saturdays. People who want to object [to the extension of hours] will need to demonstrate that problems will result from the extension. Objections from the immediate neighbours of the White Hart will carry the most weight.'

On a related note... Please do check out a wonderful photo blog here, as somebody has painstakingly photographed a number of open (and closed) pubs in the Kennington and North Lambeth area, in what should prove a useful historical record (if pub closures continue at such a steady rate).

The White Hart pub, Kennington seeks to extend licensing hours

Thanks to SE11 Action Team (Labour blog) for publicising the fact that The White Hart pub, in Kennington, SE11 is seeking to change its name to The Tommyfield and extend its opening hours on Friday and Saturday nights from midnight to 1am.

From what I can gather, this is generating some consternation from the fine upstanding people of Cleaver Square, and other locals, who do not support extended licensing due to the fact that the pub is in a residential area.  If you want to support or object, you must do so by 19th April. 

Whilst we're on the matter, I dislike the industrial sized dustbins that seem to congregate outside the pub, turning the corner between Cleaver Street and Kennington Lane into a pinch point at which pedestrians and cyclists struggle past one another in an uncouth manner (but I can't really see anywhere else they can go).

For advice on how to comment on the licensing proposals, see Lambeth Council's advice for residents and local businesses.  You'll need to email, write, telephone or fax :

Email: licensing@lambeth.gov.uk
Address: Licensing, 2 Herne Hill Road, London, SE24 0AU
By telephone - 020 7926 6108
By fax - 020 7926 6130.

Quite why the attractive name, "The White Hart" is to be changed to "The Tommyfield" is beyond me. It seems that the name "White Hart" has some kind of historical significance for the area, evidenced by the fact that it was also the name of a pub in 35 Belvedere Road, Lambeth (but maybe that's just coincidence). See here.

Additionally, there's a map here showing The White Hart Fields between 1792 and 1799 (presumably prior to residential expansion). But then perhaps we should not maintain an emotional attachment to such changeable names, for it appears that in the early 17th century, the White Hart Fields were previously known as both "eight acres" and "Coney Warren" .

I actually think "Coney Warren" would make a great pub name (think cozy, fire-lit, local and friendly), but perhaps not for the type of establishment that The Tommyfield seeks to become!  In the meantime, do pop into The Black Prince.