How Mark Wilsmore revived London’s historic Ace Cafe
The driving force behind the resurrected Ace Cafe, today a UK (and global) biking destination
Biking ‘caffs’ and motorcycling meeting spots don’t get more famous, influential or celebrated than London’s Ace Cafe, which first rose to prominence with the Ton-Up boys of the 1950s, and then the rockers of the 1960s. And the one person most responsible for its rebirth in 2001 and subsequent resurgence into a must-visit destination, TV location and model for replicas around the globe, is bequiffed ex-cop, Mark Wilsmore. The Ace’s story is one of as many contrasts as its famous chequered logo. Opening in 1938 as a service stop on the recently-opened North Circular near Wembley, it was destroyed by German bombing in 1940 then operated from a temporary building until being officially reopened in 1949.
But it was the 1950s, thanks to booming traffic, particularly British motorcycles, and the rise of teen rock ‘n’ roll, that catapulted the Ace to stardom. By becoming a popular haunt, the Ace helped inspire the Cafe racer. And when these ‘Ton-Up’ tearaways gained infamy via the tabloids and movies such as The Leather Boys, the Ace’s cult status was assured.
It didn’t last, however. By 1969, thanks to the demise of Brit bikes and upsurge of cars and motorways, the Ace had closed, the building occupied successively by a filling station, bookies and tyre depot. But in 1993, local rocker Wilsmore began on a course that resulted in not just the rebirth of the Ace in the original location, with restored buildings, but in the creation of a biking icon that’s now recognised and replicated around the world. “Prior to the Ace I was a serving copper in the Metropolitan Police mounted branch,” recalls Wilsmore today. “But, of course, I was also an enthusiastic biker.
“Living close by we’d ride past regularly and bemoan we had nowhere to go. That changed in 1993 when an older friend at the Triumph Owner’s Club, knowing my interest in the rocker scene, started taking the Mickey. He asked if I knew when the Ace shut, which I didn’t. He told me it was September 1969. After a few minutes I realised 1994 would be 25 years since it had shut and that was the lightbulb moment.”
The first ‘Ace Cafe Reunion’ the following September was such a success that Wilsmore was inspired to reinstate the Ace properly. In 1997, having bought the freehold, it was partially re-opened leading to its full re-opening in 2001.
And over the years since the Ace has gone from strength to strength. Far more than just a ‘greasy spoon’ in the tradition of the transport caff, the Ace, as Wilsmore intended, is also a ‘home’ for London bikers, a
‘I realised 1994 would be 25 years since the original Ace had shut’ ‘We’d ride past regularly and bemoan we had nowhere to go’
venue for myriad clubs and events, a monument to the rocker scene, a destination in its own right (with the memorabilia and merchandise that goes with it) and, increasingly, a brand that’s being exported around the world, with Ace venues now in Finland, Switzerland, Beijing, Barcelona and Orlando.
“I always knew what the Ace meant to anybody interested in motors so I never had any qualms about it having relevance worldwide,” Wilsmore continues. “I was convinced from the outset that it had been a home for those of us with an interest in motors. And that was what I felt it represented. I always had the sense the potential was huge, it was just a question of whether I could deliver it.”
And deliver it he certainly has. So how does he feel about his accomplishment now? “Immensely privileged. But what I didn’t expect, and the greatest buzz I get, is seeing people enjoying themselves and the company of each other because of the Ace. That is a real, real buzz.”