Viva Lewes Issue #130 July 2017

BUSINESS NEWS
It went up, then, before
you could say ‘oldest pub in
Lewes’ it went down again.
Did anyone else notice the
scaffolding on the Crown
Inn, by the War Memorial,
raised over a weekend in
May? Nothing seemed to
happen underneath it, but
it got everybody talking.
It’s only a rumour at the
moment but we’ve heard
the pub has gone for a good
price to a pubco, starting
with ‘W’.
Just down the road, Bon
Ami, a shop which always
proved difficult to pigeonhole,
has closed down but
is being replaced by Goods,
a homeware store. We called
round during their refurb, but
no-one was home, though there
were some rather nice ceramic
pots already on the shelf, and a
subtle street sign was protruding
from the wall.
For those who used to enjoy
sitting on the seats outside
Waterstones, sipping coffee,
never fear. The tables and chairs
might have gone, but they
shouldn’t be gone long: it’s a licensing issue, apparently,
which should be sorted soon.
Over the road we noticed a colourful space
upstairs in the Riverside, between TashTori
and the café, which is being offered as a for-hire
pop-up space. £15 for four hours, £25 for the
day, ring 01273 473577/470705.
And round next to the Library, some awning has
gone up with an architectural render of the new
development of 25 homes (in 15 houses) called
‘Styles Field’. Oakley are handling the sales.
Charity corner now, and we
bumped into Sarah Clowes,
as we were going to press,
who gave us a leaflet about
St Peter & St James’ latest
fundraising initiative… a
lottery! There’s a £2,000
prize up for grabs every
week, as well as a rollover
prize that can get as high
as £25,000. And all for £1
a week.
In this space last month we
suggested that Back Yard
Café were to open Lewes’
first roastery. Two readers
have written in to point
out there have been at least
two before: Flint at the top
of St Nicholas Lane, and another
on School Hill, where Tizz’s
now trades.
Last but one, we’re proud to be
one of the judges of the fourth
edition of the Lewes District
Business Awards. Our category,
Culture, Leisure and Tourism,
received an unprecedented 11
entries, which, after much research,
discussion, and consultation
with other judges, we whittled
down to four finalists: (in
alphabetical order) Bluebell Railway, Ditchling
Museum, Newhaven Fort and Pells Pool. The
winner of this and the other 13 awards will be
announced at a grand black tie event in the Town
Hall on July 13th. For the full list of finalists see
lewesdistrictbusinessawards.co.uk.
And finally… Grace Gasson, who formerly
worked for Cooper & Son, by the War Memorial,
is setting up her own funeral director service,
simply named Grace. Got any business news?
Send it in to us at alex@vivamagazines.com
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