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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/dec/19/shoreditch-residents-will-no-longer-wake-up-and-smell-syds-coffee
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| Shoreditch residents will no longer wake up and smell Syd's coffee | Shoreditch residents will no longer wake up and smell Syd's coffee |
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| Historic stall donated to Museum of London as locals bemoan rampant gentrification | |
| It’s easy to miss the small mahogany coffee stall that has stood on the corner of Shoreditch High Street for more than a century. Unassuming, and dwarfed by the buildings and buses that surround it, Syd’s is a subtle part of east London history. It survived the blitz when the street it sat on was bombed in the second world war, and it has weathered the various financial crashes that have shaken the City of London. | It’s easy to miss the small mahogany coffee stall that has stood on the corner of Shoreditch High Street for more than a century. Unassuming, and dwarfed by the buildings and buses that surround it, Syd’s is a subtle part of east London history. It survived the blitz when the street it sat on was bombed in the second world war, and it has weathered the various financial crashes that have shaken the City of London. |
| Now it has been donated to the Museum of London. But critics have said the move highlights the impact of rampant gentrification in the capital, which is making stalls such as Syd’s museum pieces rather than viable businesses. | Now it has been donated to the Museum of London. But critics have said the move highlights the impact of rampant gentrification in the capital, which is making stalls such as Syd’s museum pieces rather than viable businesses. |
| Filmmaker Zed Nelson – who recently released his film The Street, which details the huge changes that have occurred in nearby Hoxton Street – said losing stalls such as Syd’s can have a huge impact on local communities. “It’s very difficult,” he said. “Change is inevitable, people say a big city has to change to remain vital and functioning. There’s good arguments for managed change, but when long-established businesses start to disappear, people get distressed.” | Filmmaker Zed Nelson – who recently released his film The Street, which details the huge changes that have occurred in nearby Hoxton Street – said losing stalls such as Syd’s can have a huge impact on local communities. “It’s very difficult,” he said. “Change is inevitable, people say a big city has to change to remain vital and functioning. There’s good arguments for managed change, but when long-established businesses start to disappear, people get distressed.” |
| Syd Tothill’s coffee stall opened in 1919 and has been on the corner of Shoreditch High Street and Calvert Avenue ever since, with three generations of the same family running it. During the war Syd was allowed to open the stall at night to cater for the air raid wardens, and Syd’s son (Syd Junior) expanded the business to catering for weddings and events. | Syd Tothill’s coffee stall opened in 1919 and has been on the corner of Shoreditch High Street and Calvert Avenue ever since, with three generations of the same family running it. During the war Syd was allowed to open the stall at night to cater for the air raid wardens, and Syd’s son (Syd Junior) expanded the business to catering for weddings and events. |
| Syd’s granddaughter, Jane Tothill said that after a century the stall was struggling because of slower trade and changing tastes, which have made Syd’s rolls, coffee, and loose leaf tea obsolete. “We used to open at 5:30am until about 5pm and it was just constant,” she said. “We’re just not as busy as we were.” | Syd’s granddaughter, Jane Tothill said that after a century the stall was struggling because of slower trade and changing tastes, which have made Syd’s rolls, coffee, and loose leaf tea obsolete. “We used to open at 5:30am until about 5pm and it was just constant,” she said. “We’re just not as busy as we were.” |
| When Syd’s marked a hundred years of business in March this year, the decision was made to donate the stall. Tothill said: “I feel it is the best way for Syd’s to continue as part of London’s heritage and a great way to celebrate the place where you could get the best tea in London for over 100 years.” | When Syd’s marked a hundred years of business in March this year, the decision was made to donate the stall. Tothill said: “I feel it is the best way for Syd’s to continue as part of London’s heritage and a great way to celebrate the place where you could get the best tea in London for over 100 years.” |
| Vyki Sparkes, curator of social and working history at the Museum of London, said Syd’s was “an invaluable piece of our shared history as Londoners”, and had been “a quiet witness” to the challenges and changes in its corner of east London. | Vyki Sparkes, curator of social and working history at the Museum of London, said Syd’s was “an invaluable piece of our shared history as Londoners”, and had been “a quiet witness” to the challenges and changes in its corner of east London. |
| Nelson says these have been exacerbated by rampant gentrification that has pushed out local residents and benefited big business and property speculation. “When a coffee shop is competing with a coffee chain that is paying their tax offshore in another country, you can’t be competitive,” he said. “You’re competing against global companies. It’s not a level playing field. It’s not just lamenting something that’s being lost, it’s bigger than that.” | Nelson says these have been exacerbated by rampant gentrification that has pushed out local residents and benefited big business and property speculation. “When a coffee shop is competing with a coffee chain that is paying their tax offshore in another country, you can’t be competitive,” he said. “You’re competing against global companies. It’s not a level playing field. It’s not just lamenting something that’s being lost, it’s bigger than that.” |
| Shoreditch itself has become synonymous with gentrification. Nearby Hoxton Square was identified as one of the first areas that saw an influx of artists, designers, fashion professionals, writers, dancers and photographers looking for cheap studio spaces, who were then followed by property developers who cashed in on the area’s new appeal. By 2017 Shoreditch had become the most expensive tech and creative district in the world, with rents averaging £64.60 per sq ft. | Shoreditch itself has become synonymous with gentrification. Nearby Hoxton Square was identified as one of the first areas that saw an influx of artists, designers, fashion professionals, writers, dancers and photographers looking for cheap studio spaces, who were then followed by property developers who cashed in on the area’s new appeal. By 2017 Shoreditch had become the most expensive tech and creative district in the world, with rents averaging £64.60 per sq ft. |
| Nelson, who grew up in Hackney, says rapid changes in the area in the past 15 years have made life unsustainable for businesses such as Syd’s. “More recently there’s been a rapid and aggressive change, which is absolutely linked to property prices,” he said. “What began as a slow, gradual and potentially positive process became much more to do with speculation, profiteering, and people being displaced by escalating house and rental prices.” | Nelson, who grew up in Hackney, says rapid changes in the area in the past 15 years have made life unsustainable for businesses such as Syd’s. “More recently there’s been a rapid and aggressive change, which is absolutely linked to property prices,” he said. “What began as a slow, gradual and potentially positive process became much more to do with speculation, profiteering, and people being displaced by escalating house and rental prices.” |
| The stall will go into storage and undergo conservation work before it goes on display in the new Museum of London, which is due to open in 2024. The museum is moving from its home in Barbican to a site on the derelict Smithfield market buildings and will cost an estimated £250m. | The stall will go into storage and undergo conservation work before it goes on display in the new Museum of London, which is due to open in 2024. The museum is moving from its home in Barbican to a site on the derelict Smithfield market buildings and will cost an estimated £250m. |
| The original museum opened in 1976 and is dedicated to charting the capital’s story from 450,000BC to the present. Syd’s stall will eventually sit in the museum’s London Collection. | The original museum opened in 1976 and is dedicated to charting the capital’s story from 450,000BC to the present. Syd’s stall will eventually sit in the museum’s London Collection. |