From the https://www.kentonline.co.uk By Jack Dyson, 16 September 2019.

Herne Bay shop Wall Street News and Video could be turned into micropub.

Eye-catching plans to convert an ailing convenience store that has been running for about 35 years into a micropub have been revealed.

The owner of Wall Street News and Video in Herne Bay, Claire Martinez, has submitted proposals to Canterbury City Council to transform the shop into a drinking hole.

Claire and Dario Martinez have been running the store for 14 years.

She and her husband, Dario, took over the business in Western Avenue from her parents, who originally opened it as a film rental store in the 1980s, 14 years ago.

But Mrs Martinez says the pair have been struggling to make ends meet as their profits have been squeezed by nearby chains Tesco, Morrisons, and Aldi.

“We can’t compete with them,” she said. “When we took it over 14 years ago, it was really busy. But the Tesco and Aldi up the road can offer much better prices.

“We’ve been struggling for about three years and we didn’t know how much longer we could keep this business going because it’s not making us money.

“We eventually decided to try to turn it into a micropub because we thought we wouldn’t survive otherwise.”

Due to its financial struggles, the store has been forced to reduce its workforce and shorten its opening hours.

Mrs Martinez, who also works at Hampton Primary School, says the proposed pub will serve coffee, wine, and locally brewed ales.

In addition, it will continue to sell newspapers, milk, and a handful of groceries.

“We want to keep an essence of the shop,” she continued.

“We’ve got so many regular customers who come in the morning for their paper and so we really want to keep that part of the business.

“I’m hoping it’ll have a community feel and be a place where people can come along and chat to their neighbours.”

The couple are hoping to open the tavern, which they will call The Lantern, in December.

It will become the fifth micropub in Herne Bay - joining the likes of the "Bouncing Barrel" in Bank Street, The "Firkin Fog" in Station Road, and "Copper Pottle" in Beltinge.

The "Butcher’s Arms" in Canterbury Road, which was established in 2005, is credited as the first in the country.

The watering hole was run by landlord Martyn Hillier as a florist-cum-off-licence for eight years beforehand.

From the https://www.kentonline.co.uk By Jack Dyson, 26 January 2020.

Herne Bay shop Wall Street News and Video to become micropub selling groceries.

Customers will be able to pick up milk and bread as well as a pint of beer at Herne Bay’s newest micropub.

Planning officers from Canterbury City Council have given the green light to ambitious plans to transform struggling convenience store Wall Street News and Video.

Claire and Dario Martinez have been running Wall Street News and Video in Western Avenue for 14 years.

Owners Claire and Dario Martinez launched a bid to convert the loss-making shop in an attempt to keep the business running. They also want to continue to provide much-needed company to their elderly - and often lonely - clientele.

In a letter to the local authority, Mrs Martinez said: “My husband and I have had many conversations about closing the store, but one thing that has always kept us trying was the continued support of our regular customers.

“Most of them are retired and for some we are the only people they see throughout the day.

“They come in for the social aspect and we want to continue to play an important part in our community.

"We still want to offer our customers the essentials – like bread and milk – and newspapers but we also want to offer them a place to come and sit and perhaps enjoy a coffee or beer together.

“Without this change we are unsure that there will be any future for Wall Street News.”

The couple took over the business in Western Avenue about 14 years ago from Mrs Martinez’s parents, who originally opened it as a film rental store in the 1980s.

But they have been struggling to make ends meet in recent years as their profits have been squeezed by the arrival of Tesco Express and Aldi nearby.

The store has been forced to reduce its workforce and shorten its opening hours.

Mrs Martinez continued: “Our customers come for the conversation and friendship offered by Dario. The idea of a micropub came to us after we visited one and saw how important it was to the community.

“This would give our customers a base to come to, bring people together to feel part of something and hopefully they won’t feel alone.”

Mrs Martinez expects the tavern, which will be called The Lantern, to open in early May.

She will be applying for a licence to sell alcohol at the premises between 11am and 11pm each day and to sell groceries and newspapers from 7am.

The Lantern, with capacity for 40 patrons.