KebabYe fire

The saga of KebabYe has taken another turn...

On Tuesday 30th September, the roof and back of the KebabYe building caught fire, around 8am. Fire crews were on the scene immediately, and managed to stop it spreading to the surrounding buildings - otherwise that entire block could have been destroyed. Their quick response meant there were no injuries, thankfully.

The building recently was served with a notice from the fire brigade, warning that it was not safe to use, and also had some graffiti daubed on it saying "pay your staff". Bromley Council is currently investigating some reported alleged planning breaches, according to MyLondon News. After multiple refurbishments and closures, the saga has been quite a bizarre one for Beckenham residents.

The Odeon cinema had some water damage, but is open again today, though screens 1 and 2 are still closed while they do some repairs. No word yet on whether Vasconez Silver is okay, hopefully they escaped without too much damage as well.

Big shout out to the fire brigade, police, and ambulance crew, for such a fast, professional response, and hope they got a break at some point (and maybe a cheeky Greggs).

Many updates!

 So The Groove Burger Club (formerly Gyros Amigos) is now open.

Agore became Smoke and Flame - but has since closed again.

The restaurant formerly known as Ardec is now Palms Caribbean Fusion.

Grace's has become Crunch.

Scope has closed.

The old closed Starbucks is turning into Costadoro Social Coffee.

And, in the end of an era, Musical Images has closed down - the shop that somehow survived the lockdowns, has called it a day.

Somehow, the gas fireplace shop that never has anyone in there and also survived the lockdowns and survives every summer... is still going. Good work, gas fireplace folks.

Agora closing, becoming a BBQ restaurant

Agora - 66 High St, Beckenham BR3 1ED - is currently temporarily closed, and according to the signage and website is turning into a BBQ restaurant called Smoke-N-Flame. We don't have any proper BBQ places here in Beckenham, so this will be a welcome addition for me and my belly.

Gyros Amigos changing into burger club

Gyros Amigos, which has been closed for a while with a sign saying "we are changing our concept", seems to be changing entirely to a burger place. There's new signage up, calling itself "The Groove Burger Club", so we'll wait and see what it's like soon.

Shame to lose Gyros Amigos though, their mix of Greek and Mexican was something we don't have at all here in Beckenham.

Your Bowl now open

The new poke bowl restaurant, Your Bowl, is now open! I haven't been in there yet to try it out, but it looks great, and was nice and busy every time I went past.

Br3wery Beckenham now open!

The new Br3wery taproom in Beckenham is now open - it's on the corner opposite Kelsey House, at 1 Kelsey Park Rd, Beckenham BR3 6LH. The day it opened it was very full, with people spilling out onto the pavement, and looked to be very popular. I'm hoping to pop in this weekend to, er, test all the ales.

Gyros Amigos temporarily closed for refurbishment

Gyros Amigos, the recently opened Greek-Mexican restaurant, is temporarily closed for a refurbishment. The sign on the door also says "we are changing our concept", which would be a shame if they change it too much, their food was absolutely delicious. Fingers crossed it doesn't take too long, and I can get back in there for some lunch.