104-105, Western Road, Brighton

Image: © Simon Carey Taken: 25 Mar 2016

Number 104 is the four storey building on the left and was built in the 1820s as a residence. The ground floor had been converted into a shop by the mid 1840s with almost all the last half of the century operating as a fruiterer. It spent another half century from 1904 as a shoe shop and bar a single exception has been focusing on food since the early 1960s. From 1973 to the end of the 1980s it was a series of Indian restaurants which continued from the late 1990s but diverged thereafter initially as a Spanish restaurant then another offering Lebanese cuisine. A French restaurant Pascal briefly moved here from 105 before Tipaza returned and was followed by the current incumbents, Plaza Grill House, who still offer Lebanese food. Number 105 is one of six listed buildings on Western Road, see Image, Image, Image, Image and Image, and was built in the 1820s on the corner of Bedford Place. It too had become a shop by the mid 1840s and for over 80 years was a well known wine merchants run by WJ Smith. Another long running store was Osborne Pearce who moved in at the start of the 1950s and finally closed in 1990 and retailed kitchen goods particularly cutlery. Since then, like most of the western end of Western Road, the shop has focused on food, initially as a bakery and later a series of restaurants. It became a cafe in 2013 run by Iydea who closed it in 2015 opening up a sister business concentrating on vegetarian tapas. Old Images Number 105 c.1901 - http://regencysociety-jamesgray.com/volume19/source/jg_19_038.html 104 1845-1854 - MUSIC SELLER (John Tucker) 1856-1899 - FRUITERER (William Nell) 1900-1903 - MILLINER (Vera) 1904-1954 - SHOE SHOP (Osborne & Co 1904-17, Albion, Russell & Son 1918-49, Russell & Bromley 1951-54) 1958 - RECORD SHOP (Dobells Jazz Record Shop Ltd) 1960-1964 - CONFECTIONER (Wrights) 1973-1989 - RESTAURANT (Rizia Mahal 1973, Agras Taj Mahal 1974, Apadana 1975-89) 1990-1991 - NOVELTY SHOP (Trends Funtime Store) 1999-2016 - RESTAURANT (Bayleaf 1999-2004, Barcelona 2006, Tipaza 2008-12, Pascal 2012-13, Tipaza 2013-15, Plaza Grill House 2015-16) 105 1845-1852 - GROCER & ITALIAN WAREHOUSE (George Dumbrell) 1854-1856 - GROCER & TEA DEALER (R Stoneham) 1859-1931 - WINE MERCHANTS (WJ Smith & Son) 1932-1940 - COSTUMIER (Anne Reed 1932-34, Madame Victor 1936-40) 1947 - TEA ROOM (John Griffin) 1949 - RESTAURANT (Mrs A Rodgers) 1951-1990 - ELECTRICAL GOODS & HARDWARE (Osborne Pearce Ltd) 1999 - BAKER (Pat a cake) 2002-2012 - RESTAURANT (La Fourchette 2002-09, Pascal 2009-12) 2013-2015 - CAFE (Iydea) 2016 - RESTAURANT (Rootcandi)

Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0