Bohemia Village Voice

Bohemia Foodmarket - clearing the decks prior to fitting out.

Work at the new ‘Bohemia Foodmarket’ has begun, preparing the new store for an opening in November. The premises were visited on Tuesday 1 August by Bohemia Village Voice. Two workmen and a lad were there, stripping out old shelving. The owner, Mr Iqbal, however, was not on the premises. The builders working at the site said “It won’t be open for at least 3 months.” What changes will be made? “The front window will be kept, but the shuttering will be changed as the existing one is faulty. Also the front door entrance will be altered to provide higher access for dairy trolleys. And all the electric meters which are currently in the basement will have to moved to the ground floor,” the builder added. It is understood that the main floor will not be concreted over as originally planned as it is too expensive but will be covered with board and tiled instead.

What will happen to the upper floor? “The floor above will be refurbished as a flat with an independent access from the rear, leaving the shop self-contained.” The staircase from ground to first floor level has already been removed.

• The premises were, in the early twentieth century, used for a short time as a cinema, but only one half of the site was so used.