New cafe for Cowplain

Recently, the growing problem of shops shutting down and the buildings just staying empty afterwards in Cowplain and Waterlooville has become increasingly prominent.

However, when the Booze N More store closed down, Kali Akhan, from Greece, and her husband, Ishak from Turkey, decided to take over the premises and open a new cafe which started trading on November 18. The couple had previously owned the Aldwick Cafe near Bognor.

Kali said: ‘We had a café in Bognor for 10 years but we lived in Portsmouth and so the commute there was horrible. When we saw this opportunity we decided to move here as it is much closer to home. So far the locals have been really welcoming and we hope the cafe will become firmly established as an important part of the community.’

At a time where empty shops are becoming more common than open ones it is fantastic to see a breath of fresh air in the area. Despite their Aegean roots the cafe has very much a traditional British menu.

‘We serve all day breakfasts and roast dinners every day. We also do sandwiches and burgers – everything you would expect in a local cafe. Although Turkish and Greek food is very nice we live in England and want to give people the food we know they like,’ said Kali.

As a community this change was something we all have benefited from. In an age of online shopping, it is comforting that there is still a real place where we can get great food from Kali and Ishak.

‘It’s depressing that everything is beginning to close down but we hope we can counter it by providing as nice a service as we possibly can to our customers,’ said Kali.