Independent cafes are feeling the heat in Hammersmith and blame an influx of chain restaurants for rising rents.
In the past year, Bill’s, Byron, Wagamama and another Wasabi have moved into King Street, Beadon Road and Shepherd’s Bush Road - three parallel roads.
Every day they are packed, highlighting the previous need for more places to eat in an area home to thousands of workers. But independent cafes say the area is becoming more difficult for them to enter and survive.
Lou Scott owns Scotties with two coffee carts in Hammersmith, one outside the Swan pub in between Beadon Road and King Street and another in Butterwick outside L’Oreal.
The coffee carts are popular during their four-and-a-half-hour stint every morning so Ms Scott now wants to open up a small cafe in the area.
As the sole backer for her business, she is finding it difficult as rents in the area have rocketed and she feels big businesses are pushing out smaller ones.
She said: “I’ve lived in Hammersmith and Fulham for 20 years and it’s a great borough but I’ve been looking for a space for a while and just finding it impossible with the incredibly high rents. It seems like as the chains have come in the rents have got higher making it very difficult for independent traders.
“All I want is a tiny coffee shop and I’ve asked if I could take a small part of a shop which would help out not just me but the other occupant, but estate agents are very against it. I think in this climate we need to look out for each other and that doesn’t seem to be happening.”
She said the Government keeps talking about the need to support small businesses but this does not seem to be happening.
Michael Charlton runs Street Eats in Shepherd’s Bush Road and has a stall in Lyric Square’s Thursday farmers’ market. He said: “I’ve been here a few years and rents aren’t easy but I think I got in just in time, it’s very difficult to get into the area now.
“In the end, independents need more backing than just one person, it’s way too tough to be able to find a space without a more substantial financial backing. Business rates in Hammersmith and Fulham are high so you’ve got to factor that in as well.”
Jean-Marc Czeryba has run Cafe Creme in Shepherd’s Bush Road for seven years and believes it is difficult for independents but showed the Chronicle a letter from the council saying businesses earning £50,000 or less could get up to £1,000 off their business rate. “It’s a bit of a help but it’s still very difficult for independent businesses,” he added.
A council spokesman said: “Hammersmith and Fulham is a hugely desirable place to live and work, which has led to the borough having the fourth highest property price in the UK along with relatively high rents for business premises.
“The council does not directly control either of these costs however our economic development officers regularly advise people who have new business ideas on the support available to them. This has been the case with the operator of Scotties.”
Support includes a monthly enterprise club where entrepreneurs share advice, H&F Work Zone, which provides recruitment assistance, and access to mentoring programmes and business loan and grant schemes.
