St Brelade’s Wayside Café is to shut on 3 November ahead of a major redevelopment of the site.
Plans to build five apartments on the site, which also includes an 18th-century Conway tower, a bungalow on Mont Sohier and an adjacent stretch of shoreline, were given the go-ahead last year following an appeal.
“The lease runs until the end of the year, but I didn’t want my staff to be working in December when they’ll be trying to find work and accommodation, so the last trading day will be early November,” said owner Margaret Russell. “It’s been emotional for us – like breaking up a family – and customers have felt the same when they’ve found out.”
Two other businesses are also affected. Fish ’n’ Beads, which sells clothes, hair accessories and paintings, as well as organising art and craft workshops, will leave the site at the end of October. Owner Tina Ellis-Brecknell said she hoped to relocate the business, but had not yet been successful in securing new premises.
Businessman Jono Steventon is due to vacate his surf shop on the Wayside Slip at the end of October, having run the premises for the past eight years. Mr Steventon will continue to operate Jono’s Watersports, which has been based in St Brelade’s Bay for the past 22 years, hiring out kayaks, paddleboards and beach equipment.
Construction on the site is expected to start next year. The existing Wayside Café will be replaced with a new restaurant and delicatessen, with accommodation above.
