The owner of Golborne Cafe has announced he will retire next month, ending 45 years behind the counter.

Kamal Celik, who runs the family business with his wife Fatma, said it was “time to say goodbye” after decades serving the North Kensington community.

The café opened in 1980 after Mr Celik’s father left another local spot so the family could start their own, with his mother also working there in the early years.

“We’ve loved every minute and we know everyone who walks through the door,” he said. “But at this stage of life it isn’t worth the return and we would like to travel.”

He said his children have chosen other careers and do not see the financial benefit of taking on the long hours and tight margins of running a café.

Golborne Café is one of the few remaining places in the area where customers can still get a full roast dinner with tea, or an English breakfast, for £10.

One customer said it was “so nice to go somewhere affordable” at a time when eating out in London can feel out of reach.

Regulars describe the café as a community hub, where conversation flows easily and most people are known by name.

Although the business has been sold and will reopen under new owners, Mr Celik said it will inevitably feel different from the family-run café it has been for decades.

The announcement follows the recent retirement of the owners of Da Maria, fuelling concerns that traditional, affordable cafés in London are becoming increasingly rare.

 

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