New cafe bar7 could be just the Remedy
THE owner of a potential new cafebar in Ormskirk says “the high street will die” without businesses like hers injecting life into it.
Susannah Porter has submitted a licencing application to open Remedy - a coffee shop which will also function as a bar at weekends.
It would be the fourth venture of its kind for the businesswoman, who also runs three other venues under the same moniker in Southport.
Susannah hopes to open in July, once the ongoing applications have been approved by West Lancashire Council, but she is acutely aware of possible “push backs” from residents who are opposed to late night bars opening at the expense of retail facilities but is keen to stress Remedy Ormskirk is not a bar but instead will be a “75% daytime cafe”.
Although she is aware Ormskirk has a heavy student population, she does not expect the venue to attract that demographic, instead it will primarily appeal to a customers aged 38+ with “exclusive and high end” drinks on the more expensive scale.
“The unit isn’t big enough to run as a bar and that is not what we are anyway, the bar bit is just add-on for weekends.”
Susannah added: “We’ve already had some objections to our licence application submitted and I expected push backs from people who don’t want to see another bar you’ll always get that, but when you complain, you have to say more than just ‘I don’t want another bar’.
“But this high street will die without leisure facilities.
“The boutiques, gift shops and the independent jewellers [on Burscough Street] need places like Remedy to bring people out”.
Susannah is no stranger to the market town and has visited frequently over the years, as her parents were both born there.
Her mother Marian Caton lived on Lea Crescent while her father Allan
Roberts grew up on Croftson Avenue and the pair were married at the Parish Church in October 1962.
During a recent trip with her 18-year-old daughter Hope and her friend, the trio frequented a number of other Burscough Street cafes and bars, including plantbased coffee house Fenn’s, Tap Room No 12 and late-night bar and club Styles just round the corner.
She insists Remedy will offer “something different” to other venues in the town, especially because she feels “none students” aren’t as well catered for.
Susannah, who set up the Southport Pubwatch group, which currently has 40 members and is chair of the town’s BID initiative, says Remedy prides itself on their butcher-led full English Breakfast and homemade cakes, with 90% of sales coming from lattes and cappuccinos and almost 5,000 scones were sold in a six-month period.
“We serve an amazing breakfast that is of high quality for £10 and I’m not apologising for that - you won’t get something as good for £3.
“We bake all of our cakes on site, every morning,” Susannah added.
“I really enjoyed the food at Fenn’s and the Tap Room will compliment us, it’s really nice.
“Ormskirk is just the right market for us. We know what has worked, it has been tried and tested in Southport and now we are bringing it to Ormskirk.”
The new venue will also feature a paved, south facing garden, a small outdoor seating area at the front and Susannah plans to transform the interior of the former Mersey Vapour Shop with organic-inspired colours and themes, such as olive greens and moss walls.