Chamomile in England’s Lane

FIRST-TIME business owners are looking for an investor to help reopen a community café that has had to shut a year after they took over.

Alex Sajdik, who took over the Chamomile Cafe in England’s Lane, Belsize Park, with his wife Sylvie a year ago, said he needed time for the space to grow to its full potential.

The former Camden council worker said his dream was to build a business that was “much more than just a café”, with young and old people coming to socialise over a game of backgammon, to hear live music or attend a charity event.

On Tuesday, Mr Sajdik said: “We took over a year or so ago and started trading nine months ago and we raised it up towards our expectations, in terms of the clientele and the quality of the food. But you need something to keep going at the beginning until you get that profit.

“We are hoping for someone to invest and share a vision, to support a community café.

“Someone like Ricky Gervais, a celebrity personality who can help us move forward to create something really special.

“I am still positive. There is hope out there. We are not giving up. There are loads of things we can do here; there is still so much potential.

“We are talking about a place with children’s and charity workshops. Backgammon club, a book club – a meeting ground for the elderly. Music events. Stand-up comedy. It’s a good location and a strong community.”

Several messages have been posted online about the closure, with regulars saying it was “heartbreaking” and that the new owners had “busted a gut to get the place to be a success”.

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The pastel-blue cafe has been in the street since the 1990s.

Independent businesses have been struggling for years to operate in Camden high streets.

But Mr Sajdik, who used to be a project manager at the Town Hall, said he would not solely blame high business rates, VAT increases and rents for the café closure.

He said: “It was always going to be a risk. Obviously we knew we had to invest at the start – I’m maxed out on debts – but there was always a hope that we would pass a line and start making a profit doing what we dreamed to do.

“It was just about when this was going to happen. Money you can always make, it’s just a timeframe. We just hope this word goes out to the right person.”

Mr Sajdik said he and his wife had found serving the community addictive, adding: “People you serve give you good ratings, or someone taps you on the shoulder and gets involved. It is addictive. You can’t give up on that feeling. We are social human beings. We are always going to be. This is a community café. It is hard to give it away and turn into something corporate. There is a legacy.”