New Italian to open in Eastbourne

The building in Meads Street was occupied by Kamsons for a number of years but has been empty since the pharmacy moved further down the road.

In recent weeks new signage has appeared above the shop and locals say a restaurant called Food For Friends Italian Cuisine is due to open soon.

A spokesperson at Stiles Harold Williams Partnership Ltd, the commercial agent which was looking for a tenant for the empty unit, confirmed it had now been let.

He also said it had been taken on by a local person and was not connected to the Food For Friends restaurant in Brighton which specialises in vegetarian and vegan food.

The news of the successful letting has been welcomed by the Meads Community Association as the empty shop had been an eyesore for some years.

It was hoped a new business would move in last year after a planning application to change the use of the unit was approved by Eastbourne council’s planning department.

Last May a blueprint for refurbishing the long standing vacant shop as a Scandinavian style cafe and shop was put before planners.

The concept was to create a “new destination cafe by offering a combination of genuine speciality coffee, high quality light fresh food based on Swedish and British cuisine and a Scandinavian feel to the surroundings”.

The people behind the plan decided against the Meads venue and instead took over Maxfields in Eastbourne town centre’s Langney Road.

The new Meads eatery is just doors away from Xing Fu, the Chinese restaurant which opened last year – under the ownership of Xining Sheng and Hong Wang from the Eastern Wok in Old Town – after Ridgways closed down suddenly in September 2016.

No further applications – including a licensing bid have been received by Eastbourne council in respect of the former pharmacy.