Beloved Southsea Bakery, Snookies, to be brought back to Osborne Road - including the cream cakes
A beloved Southsea café and bakery is set to return having been closed for just under nine years.
Snookies was a fixture on Osborne Road for a number of decades before it closed down in 2016. The unit was subsequently turned into Kassia, an Indian restaurant, which then closed in 2020 when a number of noise complaints prevented them from playing live music.
It has been vacant since then, but the name Snookies, and its famous cakes, will now be making a return with Snookies & Co set to open soon. The new café is being opened by Kas Miah, the owner of Kassia and a number of restaurants in the area, who owns the building having purchased it after Kassia closed.
The idea came to him following the response from the public after news of Kassia’s closure broke.
Kas said: “A lot of shops are closing down at the moment and you hear about people wanting some of the older shops to come back, like Woolworths for example. When we closed Kassia, a lot of people commented about how they missed Snookies and how amazing it used to be.
“Day time venues are very popular at the moment, people are cutting down on going out late at night, so I thought it would be a good touch to bring Snookies back, offering breakfast, lunch and dinner.”
While the name will be returning to Osborne Road, Kas is also aiming to bring back the same standard of cake which made the original so popular.
He said: “Snookies was very popular and well known. It used to do amazing cream cakes, that is what they were predominantly known for. We will try our best to bring the cream cakes back and do it justice.”
Kas will be the co-owner and he will be supporting three young local entrepreneurs who will be his partners, and in charge of running the cafe.
Signs have been put up in the windows with the new name Snookies & Co and tag line ‘Coffee. Kitchen. Cocktails.’ The opening date has not yet been confirmed with the licence applications ongoing.
The café will be a part of a small group of restaurants in the area, including The Exchange in Waterlooville, Kassia Lounge in Denmead, Kassia in Drayton, The Pacific in Drayton, and Chandlers deli in Clanfield.