On 19 Sep 2015 at 12:45pm Bod wrote:
Why are cafe toilets in Lewes so naff. No hot water. Germs are killed with hot water and soap. Customers get a poor service table and chairs from car boot sales and horrid toilets.
On 19 Sep 2015 at 2:22pm Diner wrote:
Surely not the one on the left up the High Street, that seems quite salubrious
On 19 Sep 2015 at 6:09pm xplorer1 wrote:
Bod, what's "a poor service table"? And if you don't like it, take your business elsewhere. Do you really think anyone on here can answer your question - do you think there's a council or chamber of commerce policy or something?
On 19 Sep 2015 at 7:05pm Bod wrote:
Well I imagine it's to do with cost. I like most of the cafes in Lewes, just feel these issues let them down. Bad grammar... Meant two issues that stand out; lack of hot water, and chairs and tables that lack sturdiness (for example, my mother cut her finger on a broken metal chair recently in a cafe which had just been given to her to replace two wooden ones that were visibly broken) I imagine there are certain policies regarding cafes, just as there are for restaurants I believe, like not having the loo next to the kitchen? Do I think anyone on this forum can answer, well yes, if they own or work in a cafe, maybe they can. I posted to the Forum as I also wondered if anyone else had noticed these issues and thought that 'some' cafes needed to improve their facilities. I think I pay a lot for coffee or tea in Lewes cafes so expect facilities similar to those say in Brighton. As I said ( or hope I did), it's not all cafes, and most cafes in Lewes are very welcoming with good service in other areas, such as the employees.
On 19 Sep 2015 at 7:14pm Bod wrote:
No cafe in particular, just an occasional issue. Just like comfortable and sturdy chairs and tables, and good bathroom facilities. It lets some cafes down which are otherwise great places to eat and drink etc.
On 19 Sep 2015 at 8:34pm Diner wrote:
You want a bath too ?
On 19 Sep 2015 at 8:54pm Tipex wrote:
I desperately hope this thread is a wind up. SERIOUSLY??
On 19 Sep 2015 at 8:55pm CatLady wrote:
I do have this issue with Lewes and its cafes, it's all a bit too organic. They are all a bit too grimy and I feel as if I need to have a full on shower when I leave. I have worked in several lewes cafes with these issues. Maybe because a lot of them that are independent and just don't seem to make enough money to have spare cash to spend on doing up the toilets, and other cosmetic changes. I have heard that as a reason. I personally never really understood that, because if a place seems to be well looked after and clean, it makes me want to go back!
It's hard to take your business elsewhere when pretty much all the cafes in Lewes don't provide half decent and clean facilities, and furniture.
On 19 Sep 2015 at 8:58pm Tipex wrote:
Complaints about furniture?? IT'S GETTING WORSE!!
On 19 Sep 2015 at 9:19pm Historian wrote:
The current craze for 'vintage' only encourages them to buy secondhand and old furniture, crockery, cutlery etc etc. studs which has already been well used and is quite frankly worn out and unfit for commercial use.
On 20 Sep 2015 at 12:15am Belladonna wrote:
Please be specific and tell us which cafes ? Although already I think every one on the Cliffe is guilty as charged. The toilet in Buttercup is pretty grim. The loo in the old garden cafe (now lime tree kitchen) on station st was outside, cold and full of spiders !
On 20 Sep 2015 at 8:53am Sam wrote:
Go to Robsons on School hill good tables and chairs also exellent toilet, not forgetting realy good food.
I do not work there just enjoy going to a good clean place to meet friends and have a coffee and food.
On 20 Sep 2015 at 7:54pm darkcafedays wrote:
I've always put it down to money- I expect rent is high and because a lot of the cafes are independent as someone mentioned above they might not have a lot left to decorate/make things nicer. Which is a big shame as it does let down almost every cafe in Lewes. Cafe and Salvage in Brighton is a good example of the vintage/secondhand look when it works well. They have poetry readings, craft classes, impromptu guitar lessons...that would totally work in Lewes, but not a single cafe here has really nailed this IMO.
On 21 Sep 2015 at 9:27am old timer wrote:
i do enjoy a good toilet when meeting friends. This is a ridiculous thread, send up or not, that is damaging to precarious businesses in Lewes. Cafes for good or ill are always cited as essential to 'vibrant' town life. What people don't realise is the low income and high rent that most of the independent businesses endure. To judge a business like the Buttercup on its toilet when it is such amazing value for money is just plain perverse. The Lime tree kitchen is really the only restaurant in Lewes cooking good innovative food in the face of the quite dreadful chains peddling ersatz 'Italian'.
Cafe Nero perplexes me too. Why on earth would anyone want to sit in such a cloned inspid interior - probably only to then sit on one of their toilet seats!
I notice 'bod' uses the word 'bathroom'. Has he succumbed to American influence? Actually in any country the most interesting innovative and nourishing food is mostly found in modest independent restaurants. Long may they and their modest 'facilities' prevail in the face of that old British obsession with 'bathroom' matters.
On 21 Sep 2015 at 3:23pm darkcafedays wrote:
Why is it "damaging to precarious businesses" to talk about the issue in this forum?! You realise this forum really isn't THAT important, right?! The Cafe Police aren't lurking here waiting to singlehandedly close down cafes on the whim od a small thread on a small forum. And I think it's reasonable to expect to go to a toilet in a place designed for public use (and where toilets are a legal requirement) to expect toilet paper, taps that work, doors that lock and toilets that work. Not to mention basic attention to hygiene. Meeting friends or not. Cafe owners shouldn;t take that for granted, no matter how independent their business is or how high their rent is. (And when you say "what people don;t realise", what people do you mean? As high rent and low income being an issue has been mentioned on this thread plenty of times) It's their choice to run a cafe, and it's a sign of respect to the people who choose to go there instead of somewhere else, to offer a toilet that doesn't make the customer feel they might have caught something unpleasant afterwards. Not talking about a cafe in particular, but don't see why you'd get so over-defensive about what seems to me a pretty reasonable conversation point.
On 21 Sep 2015 at 3:26pm Sussex Jim wrote:
If you are in the upper High Street, go in the Brewers' Arms for a coffee. Much cheaper than the "chains"- and the toilets are clean and have hot water.
On 21 Sep 2015 at 4:50pm Bod wrote:
Some interesting replies, thanks, but really odd how some people get a bit irate about what I think is a perfectly reasonable subject, and expectation. Perhaps it's just one that doesn't interest you, so go and read something more interesting perhaps? I don't like racism, sexism, homophobia etc., so I just don't read those threads. This issue with cafes does stop me going to certain cafes in Lewes and taking friends there etc., so just pointing out what is bad for business in the hope that it will improve as I agree that most independent cafes are great and add character to the town.
On 22 Sep 2015 at 10:38am Just me wrote:
The toilets in the Hearth are less than plesant but i do and will still visit there based on the amazing food there. If things like toilets are deal breaks for you its either worth having a chat with the manager of said cafe (i am a manager and if my clients complained i would at least look at trying to address the problems if they were warrented/affecting business) or simply go to a cafe where the toilets are more pleasing to you.
To be honest, the place i manage has toilets only for its clients and they are hard enough to keep in a good clean standard as some people's toilet habits are just plain nasty. Having somewhere open up to many visitors (such as cafe's, pubs, leisure centres) is going to create more issues as there are more people who seem to forget to wipe their c**p off the seat when they have finished.