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🌞🌧️ Weather
17°C, Sunny. High of 17°C / Low of 7°C. No rain expected. A genuinely lovely spring day get outside if you can.
Morning, Croydon! It's a crisp one out there 17°C and sunny today, perfect for a long lunch or an early evening pint. Speaking of which, we've got a packed Food & Drink edition for you. New openings, a beloved bar fighting for its future, and a late-night scene that's trying to grow up. Let's get into it.
📰Morning Pulse
Tram operator in court over teen's death
The family of Reuben Abakah, a 19-year-old e-scooter rider killed by a London Trams service at Waddon Marsh West crossing in August 2022, is suing operator Tram Operations Limited for negligence. The High Court case seeks damages exceeding £200,000. The family allege the driver failed to keep a proper lookout and that warnings were issued too late the bell sounded just 2 seconds before impact. The tram was travelling at 59 km/h; the speed limit at that crossing has since been reduced to 50 km/h. No action is being taken against the driver personally. (Inside Croydon)Bishops Wine Bar: the clock is ticking
Croydon's most beloved hidden gem Bishops Wine Bar, tucked inside the Whitgift Centre faces eviction by June 2026. Angela and Tony Ferrara, who've run the bar since 1982, received a break-clause notice from landlord Whitgift Limited Partnership over Christmas. The bar, famous for its Croydon memorabilia, drag queens, solicitors, and everyone in between, has nearly 1,000 signatures on a petition to stay. The landlords cite redevelopment plans the same plans that have stalled for years. If you haven't been, go. While you still can. (Inside Croydon)The Store is back with proper ales
The South End pub, which closed in October 2025, has been taken over by Brakspear a traditional Henley-based brewer with roots going back to 1769. Known for proper cask ales and classic pub fare, this is a proper community local making a comeback. Worth a visit if you're in the South End area. (Inside Croydon)Late nights coming to Central Parade?
A restaurant at 28 Central Parade has applied to extend its opening hours midnight Sunday to Thursday, and 2am on Fridays and Saturdays. The application, submitted March 31, aims to boost Croydon's night-time economy. Residents have objected, citing noise and anti-social behaviour concerns. Croydon Council will decide. (Croydon Council)
🍽️ Daily Theme: Food & Drink Deep Dive
Croydon's food scene: what's opening, what's closing, what's fighting to survive
Croydon's hospitality sector is in a fascinating moment of flux. On one hand, new independents like Sapphire's Lounge and the Brakspear-backed Store are breathing life into the borough. Dave's Hot Chicken the LA-born chain that opened its Croydon spot in December 2025 is still pulling queues. The Continental Market brings rotating street food to the town centre. And Croydon Food Gate, a new food hall concept, is on the horizon.
On the other hand, Bishops Wine Bar 40+ years of Croydon history is being pushed out by a landlord whose redevelopment plans have barely moved in a decade. It's a story playing out in town centres across the country: the places that give a high street its soul are the first to go when the suits want to “refresh” the space.
The question for Croydon isn't just what opens next it's what we choose to protect. (Croydon Local Pulse)
Sapphire's Lounge: a taste of Sri Lanka and South India in Croydon
A new restaurant has quietly opened in Croydon bringing Sri Lankan and South Indian cuisine to the borough. Sapphire's Lounge is the kind of independent, family-run spot that makes Croydon's food scene genuinely exciting bold flavours, warm hospitality, and a menu that takes you somewhere else entirely. Keep an eye on this one. (Sapphire's Lounge)
⚡ Pulse Points
🛒 Decathlon opens at IKEA Croydon tomorrow (April 24) first 100 customers get a free Quechua backpack + £20 voucher. Family activities Saturday including climbing wall, face painting, DJs. (FashionUnited)
🗳️ 14 days to the Croydon Mayoral Election (May 7) — Jason Perry (Con), Rowenna Davis (Lab), Ben Flook (Reform), Richard Howard (Lib Dem) among 8 candidates. Postal vote deadline has passed if you're voting in person, May 7 is the date. (Croydon Council)
🎨 Croydonist turns 10 free exhibition at Click Clock Art Gallery, Clocktower Café, running May 5–29. Celebrating a decade of Croydon's creative community.(Croydonist)
🦆 Sanderstead's Gruffy gets a duck house the Sanderstead Residents' Association centenary is being marked with a brand new duck house at The Gruffy pond. Only in Croydon.(Inside Croydon)
A wine bar where drag queens and solicitors have been drinking side by side since 1982, tucked inside a shopping centre that's been "about to be redeveloped" for the better part of a decade. That's Bishops. That's Croydon. Sign the petition. Go for a glass. Tell Angela and Tony they matter.
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That's your Food & Drink Thursday sorted. Got a tip on a new opening, a hidden gem, or a local business that deserves a spotlight? Hit reply I read every one.
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See you tomorrow for the Weekend Guide. 🎉
Croydon Local Pulse