Council U-turn Saves Deli From Disaster

Jacobs & Field in Headington was an instant hit when it opened in March, but as its popularity grew, so did its need for more tables and chairs – forcing the store to change its planning status to trade as a café and a shop.

However, permission was denied due to Oxford City Council having reached its limit of allowing stores in the area to convert to restaurants and cafés. As a result, Jacobs & Field was ordered to remove the majority of its tables and chairs.

But thanks to the deli’s loyal customer base – who inundated councillors with letters of support – the council has agreed to bend its own rules, letting the store trade as normal.
The policy of restricting the number of restaurants and cafés in Headington was intended to keep the area eclectic, but the authorities later decided that the deli helped enhance this.

“People come from miles around to eat in our café, so having to limit our seating area would have been a significant setback,” says Damion Farah, who co-owns the store with business partner Johnny Pugsley. “We hand-make all of our salads, sandwiches and deli items, and have tried really hard to make the store a real ‘home-from-home’ for customers. There really isn’t anything else like us in the community, which must be why people reacted so strongly,” he says.

Indeed, the council received hundreds of letters of protest against the plans, forcing a committee to reconsider the verdict. “The policy states that 65% of the businesses in Headington have to be purely retail in a bid to keep things vibrant and stop the area being overrun with coffee shops. However, our customers argued that the store has done just that,” continues Mr Farah. “It was really touching to read so many handwritten letters of support. One of the councillors said they had never had such a strong response, which was wonderful to hear.”

When the store launched earlier in the year, it catered for just 15 covers, but this gradually crept up to over 40 as word spread. “Now we’ve got the all clear, we’re in the process of adding another seating area at the back of the shop. And if that goes well, we’ll certainly be looking into opening a new branch in the future,” he adds.