One year on: Bosham residents praise much-loved Crate Café

The Crate Cafe and Bar in Delling Lane is being hailed as much-loved community hub at the centre of life in the village since its opening on October 25 last year.

Delighted founders – Alex Clark, Alice Priestley, Luke Hillman and Yaz Hillman – say they have been ‘blown away’ by the reception from locals over the past 12 months.

Alice said: “The last year has been totally overwhelming and we couldn’t be happier with how things have gone. We are so lucky and blessed to be so welcomed by the community with open arms.

“Our vision of becoming a community hub and meeting point for the local area has become reality and it’s so wonderful to see.

“With nothing but positive feedback and continued interest from the community it’s given us everything we need to try to expand and utilise our business and space.

“We have continued to try and offer variety and community-based activities such as markets, tasting evenings, parties, weddings and the like to keep it new and exciting. And we have enjoyed working with local food vendors to provide a selection of different foods.”

Yaz says the plan is to continue to work with the community, launch a Crate shop and continue to upgrade facilities and services on offer.

She added: “We also have a couple of opportunities to expand along the south coast, which we are currently considering and will decide on soon. We have learnt that people enjoy our random, out-of-the-box approach of keeping it different and listening to the community.”

Bosham resident Peter Sims, agreed that since The Crate opened in October 2021 it has become a major hub for the Bosham community, attracting villagers of all ages, families, dog-walkers, mother and toddler groups, as well as local businesspeople, throughout the day and evening.

He added: “The Crate’s location between Old Bosham and Upper Bosham serves to bring these two parts of the village community together in a friendly and safe environment. Many were sceptical that the café would be able to attract people when it first opened in the winter, because of the nature of the café being outdoors, but from the very beginning it was welcomed with open arms by the community. The later inclusion of a bar in a mini container was a popular decision.

“The vision that Alex, Alice, Luke and Yaz shared was to create a café inspired by the laid-back culture and atmosphere of Indonesia, to bring a taste of Bali to Bosham as it were, and to give the village an environment that is relaxed and vibrant while being unrelentingly committed to sus-tainability. I think they have certainly achieved that.”

Alex Jupe, a regular at The Crate, says the venue is a boost for the area. He added: “I started going to The Crate when it first opened and loved the atmosphere, friendly staff and the feel of it. Since then I have been going nearly every day and have watched it grow into a lively venue that the village desperately needed, whether going for lunch or an evening out.”