The Ladywell Fields cafe will reopen on Monday June 1 as Fields – an all year round meeting place and space for the whole community to enjoy.
The cafe, recently taken over by the team behind Cafe Oscars, Wilsons and Plenty in Ladywell, will be committed to holding events, hosting craft activities, and providing a friendly place to meet for community groups, says Alina.
” We need to turn Fields into a year round cafe. We don’t just want it to be a summer venue,” says Edie, who will manage the cafe.
“Ladywell Fields is a busy park … it is used all year round – dog walkers, runners, tennis, the playground and a soon to be finished skatepark, “adds Alina.
The team won the contract to run the cafe after winning a competitive tendering process run by Glendale, which provides maintenance and management services in Lewisham parks.
The cafe had been run by the Jimmy Mizen Foundation for over a decade as the The Thousand Hands/Good Hope Cafe. The charity was set up in memory of teenager Jimmy Mizen, who was murdered in 2008.
Alina and Edie say the cafe will be slightly different to Oscars in the high street, offering coffee by Scenery, a new independent coffee roasters based in London Bridge.
” We’ll be offering park cafe classics – bacon rolls, pastries, toasted sandwiches, and some homemade dishes,” says Alina.
But there will be hot chocolate, soups and jacket potatoes in winter. “We want to offer food suitable for the seasons.”
For the summer, Fields is teaming up with Sundae in Brockley to offer a great selection of icecreams. “Bekir, the owner of Sundae will create a cherry, chocolate ice cream just for the cafe,” says Alina
Fields will be open seven days a week and, importantly, the park toilets will be open again too.
Improvements have been made outside in the courtyard and the aim is to install a cover to create year-round seating, along with landscaping and lighting.
The team plan to host weekend food traders – pizza, tacos, crêpes and other pop-ups – in the space and bring even more life to the park.
Alina and Edie say they have had to make improvements to the inside too, creating new seating and a serving counter – and doing lots of painting. The team has invested heavily in coffee and kitchen equipment.
“Our one big hope,” says Alina, is that the exploratory drilling for Lewisham hospital’s ground source heating system which will start just as we open is not too disruptive.”
Fields will host an opening party on Sunday May 31 as part of the Brockley Max community festival. Music, food and drinks – and lots of icecream will be available.