Whiteways cafe site to be given 'new lease of life', says duke's son
A popular cafe near Arundel will be given a 'new lease of life', according to the owner.
The Whiteways Takeaway Kiosk at Bury Hill, Houghton, closed in October 2025.
Phil Howard, the Duke of Norfolk’s youngest son and founder of Fauna Brewery in Arundel, has taken over ownership of the site.
He said: “We want to give Whiteways a new lease of life while keeping what has always made the site special.
"We’re creating a proper café with indoor seating, serving great coffee, breakfast and lunch, alongside cakes, ice cream and a simple, good-quality food offering.
“Being right on the edge of the South Downs, we also want Whiteways to become a really useful base for people enjoying the area. We’re planning e-bike hire and looking at other outdoor activities that work naturally with the location.”
The site was previously hugely popular with bikers, with hundreds of motorcycle enthusiasts regularly packing the car park on weekends.
He said: "We’re not trying to turn Whiteways into something exclusive or overly polished – quite the opposite. We want it to remain a relaxed, accessible place where lots of different groups of people feel comfortable.
“The parking will remain free, and bikers will be just as welcome to stop for a coffee, breakfast or lunch as walkers, cyclists, families and everyone else.”
While there is ‘still plenty to do’ on the construction of the building, it is ‘starting to take shape’.
Phil said: “You can now get a much better sense of what the finished café is going to feel like.
“We’re trying to do it properly rather than rush it, and we’re really excited by how it’s coming together.”
The current aim is to open towards the end of November.
Phil is also renovating the former Waterside Cafe, in Mill Road, Arundel, which closed in November 2025.
Now known as River Kitchen, the business ‘will be a very different experience’ to Whiteways.
Whiteways is ‘about the South Downs and the people who use them’, while River Kitchen will ‘make the most of its position on the River Arun’, according to Phil.
He added: “Alongside that, we’ll continue brewing Fauna beer locally and growing the brewery.
“We’d like to build a small collection of really good hospitality businesses across Sussex – places with their own identity, that feel part of their local area and that people genuinely enjoy spending time in.”