Beloved police box cafe's future under threat following "soul crushing" long-term bridge closure
The popular coffee bar’s owner has already suffered a 40% drop in footfall since the path closed in late June
A family-run coffee bar may be forced to close its doors after learning that the busy cycle and walking route on which it relies for customer footfall will not reopen until “at least early 2028”.
The path from Broughton Road to St Mark’s Park in Warriston was abruptly closed at the end of June after a bridge along it failed a safety inspection.
It was revealed in a council meeting last week that a split in one of Powderhall Bridge’s timbers means it is “highly likely” the entire bridge will need replacing, with no timetable currently confirmed for doing this.
Residents alongside those dropping their children off at nearby Broughton Primary School will need to spend at least another year and a half taking a more than 15-minutes diversion.
For Yossi Mazon, who runs the DelishYoss Coffee Bar out of a police box at the path’s entrance, the news was “soul crushing”.
He said: “I’m already thinking about closing the business and looking for a new job because I can’t sustain this.
“The drop in income is massive. These are people who are cut off from their arteries but they’re also cut off from my police box.
“I can sustain a footfall drop of 40 per cent as I have for the last few months for a little bit but this business is all I have, it is what sustains my family.”
The council still needs to secure funding before it can replace the bridge, which was found to be at risk of structural failure “at any time” if there are heavy loads on it or during periods of unusually hot weather.
But buying and installing processes will likely take “several months”.
Describing the council’s decision-making as “inept”, Mr Mazon called for a more urgent solution to the closure.
“They don’t know how to move with speed. Everything comes down to words but nothing is being done and the communication is beyond shocking,” he said.
According to Mr Mazon, anywhere between 50 to 60 people a day ask for directions around the closure, thanks in part to a lack of signage two months on from the closure.
The diversion through a private housing estate and up an uneven gravel path has already created frustrations for residents of the estate who have to put up with the increased pedestrian traffic.
Locals are now joining the coffee bar owner to launch a petition urging the council to act quicker or explore ways to keep the path open.
He said: “I’m the only stakeholder in a 500 meters radius. It’s really easy to ignore me and to think it’s just a tiny little business. I’m only making enough to sustain my family, not even that now, and they’re ignoring me.
”They acknowledge that there will be affects on my business but that does not translate into help whatsoever, it does not translate into any kind of support to my family, to my business.”
Leith Walk’s Liberal Democrat councillor Jack Caldwell, who tabled a call for an urgent re-opening last Thursday, said: “This bridge is vital for residents, local businesses, Broughton Primary School, commuters and visitors alike.
“Our communities simply can't afford to wait until 2028 for the bridge to reopen, so the council must work urgently and explore all possibilities to bring this closure to an end.”
Councillor Stephen Jenkinson, transport and environment convener, said the council informed all relevant stakeholders “as soon as we could”.
He added: “I’m conscious of how valued this bridge is by the local community. However, our overriding priority has always been and will continue to be the safety of the public.
“We’ll continue to keep working with the community and other stakeholders during this process.”