Putney Pantry will serve its last coffee at St Mary’s Church on 18 December, ending 12 years as a community hub on Putney High Street.
Owner Issa Cissokho told Putney.news the decision came after a difficult year. Business never fully recovered from COVID, and since May he has been working seven days a week just to keep things running.
“I sort of reached a point where I felt like I was paddling and going nowhere,” he said.
The cafe’s location created challenges from the start. Set back from the high street inside the church grounds, with limited signage, Putney Pantry struggled to catch the morning coffee crowd.
“By the time people reach us, they’ve already got something in their hand,” Cissokho said. “Up to now you have people turn up who never realised it’s a coffee shop.”
Changes at the church also played a role. A new manager replaced the previous one, who had worked closely with the cafe on events including comedy nights. The church now wants to focus on church-related activities – a shift Cissokho understands, even if it affected trade.
“There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s a different approach,” he said. “We’ve had the support from the church, from the vicar, to the congregation. Everyone has been really supportive.”
A new operator will take over the cafe space after Cissokho leaves.
A 20-year dream
But the closure is not an ending for Cissokho. It is the beginning of something he has been planning for two decades.
A chef with more than 25 years’ experience across Europe, he wrote his university dissertation in 2004 on West African restaurants in London, arguing there was a gap in the market for authentic Senegalese cuisine that went beyond the community restaurants serving their own diaspora.
“I’ve been dreaming of that for so many years,” he said. “A friend of mine is saying, this is the time to do it.”
His new venture, Academy Pantry, opened in May inside the Royal Academy of Dance headquarters in Battersea. Once he takes a break over Christmas, the plan is to introduce dishes from his Senegalese heritage – including thieboudienne – what he calls the “mother of Jollof rice” – a one-pot fish and rice dish from his home region.
“I wanted to revisit those dishes,” he said. “I think London restaurant-goers will be happy to try the authentic ones now.”
History books
After 12 years, Cissokho said Putney Pantry had shaped him as much as he shaped it.
“Putney Pantry has been a centre of community,” he said. “I’ve learned so much from the people coming over, people supporting us. It’s been part of shaping me as a person.”
Many of his regulars were elderly – loyal customers who came rain or shine, unlike younger visitors who might drop in once because it was fashionable and never return.
“The elderly, whether it’s rain, it snows, they will turn up,” he said. “It’s like history books every day in front of you.”
Customers wanting a final visit to Putney Pantry have until 18 December. The cafe is open Monday to Friday 10am-3.30pm, Saturday 9.30am-4pm, and Sunday 11am-4pm.
Academy Pantry is at the Royal Academy of Dance, 2 John Islip Street, Battersea, SW1P 4DG.
