Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Goliath for independents
Festival, who supports the charities, who are engaged in civic affairs? It is overwhelmingly those that own, manage or work in locally-owned businesses.
“Chains by contrast impose a uniformity that makes every town look the same. The independents stamp character on a place, both in terms of their physical appearance – signs, window displays – and the nature of the people that own them.”
Those that eat regularly at independents enjoy the food as much as they do interacting with the owners, whether it’s someone like Michel Piquet at the Cafe St Pierre in St Peter’s Street, Massimo Fiero at Pinnochio’s in Cas- tle Street or Ruhul Alam at the Kashmir in Palace Street.
Dan Grimwood forms the friendly front-of-house face at The Refectory in St Dunstan’s Street. He believes independent restaurants are just as capable of mixing it with the big boys from the corporations.
He said: “This talk of chains versus independents isn’t confined to Canterbury – it’s a national thing.
“Yes, we don’t want Canterbury to look like other places. But if you’ve got so many chains wanting to come here then it shows that the city is a good place to do business.
“But there is a thirst here for independents and if you are doing something well people will come to you. We are just a little breakfast and brunch eatery, but as an independent we are able to offer friendly interaction with our regulars.
“People like that. We are in a nice old building and we’re unique.”
As Dan points out, the way an independent physically presents itself as a feature of Canterbury’s urban landscape is a source of divergence from the chains.
Here we are entering the territory of the Canterbury Society, a self-appointed guardian of the city’s aesthetic and historic qualities.
“Chains are rarely willing to change their standard issue shop fronts to fit in with the local building styles,” says society stalwart Jan Pahl.
“Independents add spice and variety to a place – and often provide more interesting and more locally sourced food and drinks.
“They can be more aware of local preferences and with a more stable staff can build up better relations with customers. So an independent can feel more friendly than a chain.
“In addition, chains are rarely willing to put up posters for local events or to contribute to local charities and good causes. Often the manager does not really know anything about the city – which is very different from the managers or owners of independents. In a place like Canterbury, that can really make a difference.”
But Bob Jones, chief executive of the Canterbury Connected Business Improvement District, insists that the city retains a healthy level of independent traders of all variety.
His organisation’s figures show that restaurants and other food retailers now account for 23% of all businesses in central Canterbury. And of all businesses 43% are independents.
“That’s pretty encouraging,” Bob says.
“But let’s not forget that the chains all started out one way or another as independents and grew as a result of their success.
“They do have particular ways of doing things so that they will feel much the same wherever you eat in one. This, however, means that they have been doing something right, that they have tried and tested ways of doing things.
“The independents offer us this uniqueness and we have some fantastic ones like Cafe des Amis and Cafe Mauresque, and the Happy Samurai, which actually wants to become a chain.
“Yes, there are chains out there, but there are also a lot of independents. It really is all about creating the right balance.”
‘There is a thirst here for independents and if you are doing something well people will come to you’ - Dan Grimwood
Does Canterbury have the right balance between chains and independents? Email kentishgazette@thekmgroup.co.uk or write to Gazette House, Estuary View Business Park, Whitstable, CT5 3SE