{"id":751202,"date":"2026-08-27T08:22:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T08:22:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/751202\/"},"modified":"2026-08-27T08:22:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T08:22:09","slug":"ashfords-by-the-tank-cafe-and-craving-house-close","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/751202\/","title":{"rendered":"Ashford\u2019s By The Tank Cafe and Craving House close"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A town centre has taken a double hit following the closure of two cafes \u2013 but other eateries have now moved in.<\/p>\n

Both By The Tank and Craving House in Ashford have closed for good, with bosses blaming a drop in footfall among the reasons for the departures.<\/p>\n

\"ByBy The Tank Cafe has closed after 23 years in Ashford’s St George’s Square, off New Street<\/p>\n

By The Tank was a long-running staple in the town centre, having been opened by Ayten Yilmaz in 2003 next to the former Park Mall shopping centre in New Street.<\/p>\n

Work to demolish the council-owned Park Mall and neighbouring car parks started earlier this year, with all traders told to move out by January. An interim car park is initially planned for the site, followed by a proposed residential-led, mixed-use development in the future.<\/p>\n

But over the last few months, Ms Yilmaz has struggled with fewer customers and the dust and disturbance of the demolition project.<\/p>\n

She says weekly takings fell from \u00a34,500 before Park Mall closed to \u00a32,800 – a drop of almost 40%.<\/p>\n

Speaking just hours after serving diners for the final time on Sunday, she told KentOnline: \u201cWilko and M&S [leaving the town] was hard, but Park Mall has destroyed us.<\/p>\n

\"AytenAyten Yilmaz has shut By The Tank Cafe after 23 years of trading in Ashford town centre<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t be successful with all the access that\u2019s been lost and feeling like we\u2019re living through an earthquake with all the vibrations.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it\u2019s been very sad and my customers have even shared my grief by crying too.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I\u2019m proud of the cafe and how much we\u2019ve become part of the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bosses at Ashford Borough Council (ABC) say the authority offered promotional support including banners, vinyl signage, and flyers highlighting businesses remain open in New Street.<\/a><\/p>\n

Miss Yilmaz will now hand the keys over to surveyors, Stafford Perkins, by the end of the month, who are expected to market the property for rent at \u00a320,000 per year.<\/p>\n

\"CravingCraving House has shut after less than a year of trading in Ashford town centre<\/p>\n

ABC councillor Bill Barrett described the closure as a big loss, adding: \u201cMany people will miss Ayten, who has trained many staff and helped feed homeless and displaced people across the years.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe will be long remembered.”<\/p>\n

By The Tank\u2019s closure came just a fortnight after fellow cafe, Craving House, also shut.<\/p>\n

Kent\u2019s first Italian-Peruvian restaurant was opened by Diego Herrada in Middle Row<\/a>, just off the high street, in autumn last year, filling the unit formerly occupied by Espresso Lounge.<\/p>\n

However, Peru-born Mr Herrada says the restaurant has been blighted by anti-social behaviour.<\/p>\n

\"DiegoDiego Herrada was behind the now-closed Craving House in Ashford\u2019s Middle Row<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very stressful keeping the doors open late because there\u2019s young boys shouting and running around the high street,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cTalking with the customers, 80% of them have told me they think it\u2019s too risky to come here in the evening.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve asked for help, but nobody has done anything.<\/p>\n

\u201cFootfall in June and July was awful. I\u2019d say sales dropped 65% compared to when we opened last year.\u201d<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for ABC said the council is working to support businesses.<\/p>\n

They said: \u201cWe are sorry both have decided to close and would like to thank the owners for their contribution to Ashford town centre.<\/p>\n

\"HowHow the former Park Mall shopping centre site currently looks. Demolition works are still underway<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the case of By The Tank Cafe, the council worked closely with the business throughout the Park Mall demolition works, providing promotional support, signage, engagement, and practical assistance to help maintain visibility and access during a challenging period.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also recognise concerns about anti-social behaviour and work closely with police and partner organisations to tackle these issues through enforcement, Public Spaces Protection Orders, and youth engagement initiatives.<\/p>\n

\u201cPolice data for Victoria ward, which includes the town centre, shows recorded anti-social behaviour incidents reduced by 13.5% between March 2025 and February 2026 compared to the same period in the previous year.<\/p>\n

\u201cBetween January 1 and August 24, recorded footfall data near the bandstand shows more than 2.3 million visits to the town centre, which is 2% higher than the same period last year.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are however some newcomers on the block.<\/p>\n

\"PretPret A Manger has opened at Ashford’s BP garage along Beaver Road<\/p>\n

Burger takeaway restaurant, Smash & Shake, is now open in Station Road in the former Papa John\u2019s unit.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, coffee chain, Pret a Manager, has launched its newest branch at the BP petrol station along Beaver Road.<\/p>\n

Its opening was unveiled by Mayor of Ashford, Winston Michael, on August 13.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, bosses of coffee franchise, Jamaica Blue, have announced they are to join County Square shopping centre.<\/p>\n

\"SmashSmash & Shake opened along Ashford’s Station Road<\/p>\n

Founded more than 30 years ago in Australia, the company, which also sells sandwiches and handmade cakes, takes its name from the world-renowned Jamaica Blue Mountains.<\/p>\n

It will invest \u00a3300,000 into the cafe and create 15 jobs when it opens on September 17, becoming Kent’s fourth store alongside others in Gillingham, Maidstone, and Tunbridge Wells.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A town centre has taken a double hit following the closure of two cafes \u2013 but other eateries…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":751203,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[3859,84,1319,59,192,191,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-751202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-ashford","tag-business","tag-consumer","tag-gb","tag-human-interest","tag-kent","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/751202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=751202"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/751202\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/751203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=751202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=751202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=751202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}