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| Cereal Killer Cafe owner hits back in open letter to Channel 4 news reporter who asked him about gentrification | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The owner of a new London cafe that only serves breakfast cereal has posted an online rant about a journalist who asked him about gentrification in the area the business is based. | The owner of a new London cafe that only serves breakfast cereal has posted an online rant about a journalist who asked him about gentrification in the area the business is based. |
| Gary Keery abruptly ended an interview last week with Channel 4 News reporter Symeon Brown, telling him he did not like the questions he was being asked about poverty. | Gary Keery abruptly ended an interview last week with Channel 4 News reporter Symeon Brown, telling him he did not like the questions he was being asked about poverty. |
| Last night the owner of the cafe posted an “open letter of complaint” on Facebook in which he accused the programme of “making a mockery out of me”. | Last night the owner of the cafe posted an “open letter of complaint” on Facebook in which he accused the programme of “making a mockery out of me”. |
| Cereal Killer Cafe is based in the borough of Tower Hamlets in East London and serves breakfast cereal for £3.20 a bowl, more than double price of large value box of breakfast cereal from a supermarket. | Cereal Killer Cafe is based in the borough of Tower Hamlets in East London and serves breakfast cereal for £3.20 a bowl, more than double price of large value box of breakfast cereal from a supermarket. |
| “You obviously don't understand business if you think I don't have to put a mark-up on what I sell,” he said in the post on the cafe’s Facebook page. “It may be the poorest borough in London but let's not forget Canary Wharf is also in this borough but I am the one to blame eh?” | “You obviously don't understand business if you think I don't have to put a mark-up on what I sell,” he said in the post on the cafe’s Facebook page. “It may be the poorest borough in London but let's not forget Canary Wharf is also in this borough but I am the one to blame eh?” |
| Tower Hamlets has the highest rate of child poverty in London, and is the third most deprived borough in the country. Despite this it also includes the skyscraper-filled financial centre Canary Wharf and has creeping gentrification on its western fringes. | Tower Hamlets has the highest rate of child poverty in London, and is the third most deprived borough in the country. Despite this it also includes the skyscraper-filled financial centre Canary Wharf and has creeping gentrification on its western fringes. |
| In the open letter, Mr Keery said he had been busy during the interview. | In the open letter, Mr Keery said he had been busy during the interview. |
| “I feel what you have tried to do to me was completely unfair. I repeatedly told you I was too busy to do interviews, kept pushing me and pushing me even though I had a cafe full of customers wanting to be served,” he said. | “I feel what you have tried to do to me was completely unfair. I repeatedly told you I was too busy to do interviews, kept pushing me and pushing me even though I had a cafe full of customers wanting to be served,” he said. |
| The business owner said he should have be treated with respect by journalists, citing the proximity of the interview to ‘Small Business Saturday’, a day in which politicians celebrate local enterprises. | The business owner said he should have be treated with respect by journalists, citing the proximity of the interview to ‘Small Business Saturday’, a day in which politicians celebrate local enterprises. |
| He said being asked about gentrification in the area constituted being “attacked”. | He said being asked about gentrification in the area constituted being “attacked”. |
| “First of all you tried to blame me for the property prices in London before attacking me with questions about poverty,” he argued. | “First of all you tried to blame me for the property prices in London before attacking me with questions about poverty,” he argued. |
| “I am a small business owner and am gambling everything I have in this business and you try to make a mockery out of me 4 days after 'small business Saturday' when we are supposed to support small businesses.” | “I am a small business owner and am gambling everything I have in this business and you try to make a mockery out of me 4 days after 'small business Saturday' when we are supposed to support small businesses.” |
| The businessman said he employed 12 staff and that he would in the future help local charities and consider offering free breakfasts to local children. | The businessman said he employed 12 staff and that he would in the future help local charities and consider offering free breakfasts to local children. |
| “I am not the selfish **** you have made me out to be, although on my opening day I will admit it was not the most important thing for me,” he added. | “I am not the selfish **** you have made me out to be, although on my opening day I will admit it was not the most important thing for me,” he added. |
| Mr Keery signed his complaint letter "the worst person in the world" and concluded a post-script saying he would bill the reporter £3.20 for the bowl of cereal he had been given. | Mr Keery signed his complaint letter "the worst person in the world" and concluded a post-script saying he would bill the reporter £3.20 for the bowl of cereal he had been given. |
| Channel 4 did not respond immediately to requests for comment. | Channel 4 did not respond immediately to requests for comment. |