A derelict former electronics store, Henry’s in Margate is to reopen as an Anglo-Indian pub. After serving Thanet customers for generations, the shop shut in 2017 and has been left derelict ever since.
Planning permission consent to repurpose the former Henry’s building on the High Street, Margate, have been submitted by businessmen Phil Evans, Colin Barber, and Paul Singh Tung.
Tung previously ran The Riz restaurant in the coastal town. He has visited India to bring back decor for the restaurant, and will be in be offering menu offering traditional Indian cuisine such as masala dosas mixed with small plates.
Singh Tung says his food will be “authentic and not changing to anybody’s taste, just as it should be”.
“There’s a market for new ideas, you don’t need to open a traditional pub,” he added.
Tung, who also co owns Fez in Margate, said: “It’s just going to be called Henry’s, we thought it was a good idea to keep it because everybody knows this as that.
Henry’s first opened in 1932 by Denis ‘Henry’ Poupard, who was an electrical engineer. During the war he worked on the then secret RADAR technology.
After the war he concentrated on electrical retail in Thanet and his son Julian became a business partner in the 1960s, adding the photographic services to the store. He also branched out with shops in Cliftonville, Birchington and Broadstairs.
The shop, which was the first in Thanet to sell TVs, closed in October 2017 as Julian was then approaching his 81st birthday.
Author: George Shaw
Former BBC journalist and founder and CEO of an award-winning London advertising and PR company for 20 years, providing restaurant consultancy services. Spent a decade as the director of communications of the Asian Catering Federation in the UK and lead judge for its various restaurant and chef awards programmes. Now returned to journalism, specialising in food and travel and currently the Editor-in-Chief for Taste London, Taste Asia, the Good Curry Guide and CEO of International Culinary Guides.