FIFTY2, MARGATE. A SNEAK PEEK.

Welcome to FIFTY2.

This is a sneak peek and initial impressions and may have no true bearing on the reality of the business. 

I am The White Rabbit, I say what I see.

My reason to visit was to order a take away from the pop up restaurant serving Jerk food by @soulfoodkitchen for their garden opening event.

My excitement for the food was hightened by the prospect of having an excuse to have a look inside FIFTY2. 

Until now I couldn't have told you where it was... 

Duh...at number 52... Okay okay clues in the name, but seriously I must drive past there every other day and it's never grabbed my attention... And I don't miss much.

Situated in Westbrook between the old Sea Bathing Hospital and the bridge, it sits in a small cluster of shops. Tesco is a few doors down, other shops are joined but this is a satellite of Margate, neither here nor there. 

A business here has to draw people to it or what you produce goes out to the people. 

You are unlikely to get many walk-ins because most people are either going to or from somewhere else, they are now browsing.

So what is it?

An online search says bagel bar. Social media shows pictures of some deliciously vibrant snack foods, salads, sandwiches, bagels, sweet bites, cooked breakfasts and occasionally a BBQ.

So it's a snacking cafe, take away and anything else it can sqeeze in. There is nothing wrong with that, diversity is the key for small businesses to survive.

Who is it's target customers?

It's decor and garden leads me to suspect that the idea is to masquerade as a delightfuly idyllic foodie go to and take away but by night it lets it's hair down and gets sassy.

Allow me to put that another way, people who don't mind paying more for quality may come here (or they would have grabbed a sandwich from Tesco) People who want to sit down and relax might eat here. A group of casual lunchers might meet here, and in the evening like minded people might come in to enjoy a drink in a chilled environment. The next bar or pub is still quite a walk away, so it's convenient for some, the trick is to make yourself the destination, not the pit stop. That said, it's not really a bar either, apart from tonight I've never seen lights on after 5.

So let's have a walk through...

Inside, and as you walk in you are met by the servery. 

This isn't a large area, it has the comfort and feel of a take away, but with more stools. Well, it's much nicer than most take aways but that is by and large the use of the space with it's token couch and stools lining the length with a TV and big mirrors. Oh and the neon lights, suggesting a cross over.

I'm struggling to see how this internal space can work for evening groups looking for quality surroundings and comfort, but what they do have, they have made it the best they could. 

The garden is where this FIFTY2 really shows it's intentions.

The garden says let's have a party. 

From the rear doors is a raised terrace with a bar shack stocked with spirits in bottles of every neon colour.

Naughty corner indeed!

Low backed patio furniture around a firepit, clean lawn (fake surely, I'm not judging lots of great things are fake) 

And then to the rear across the back is a covered seating area and I am willing to bet that it serves as a perfect backdrop to a summers. evening.

In a way the garden reminds me of a place on the other side of town on Northdown road. It is kind of like the Lebanese restaurant and hookah lounge "Pasha" in Northdown road with its large covered garden lounge, the seatng outside is its key selling point, maybe also to enjoy a hookah possibly and taste some authentic food (but don't bother on that point, not from my experience anyway... See my review) But what Pasha does have is an identity to wrap around and bring it together, but I can't tell what FIFTY2s identity is yet.

IDENTITY IS KEY. 

KNOW YOUR MARKET, KNOW YOUR PRODUCT, KNOW YOURSELF, SELL IT HARD.

I admit I don't know enough first hand to give a proper review yet, so this is a sneak peek.

Sometimes my reviews are based around a humorous undertone, but the point is hidden in plain sight. Sometimes my reviews say things that others do not see. Sometimes I just say it as it is.

So FIFTY2, I look forward to seeing more from you, I will be back to work out if I can see what you think you see. But I will tell you something for nothing now, none of the thousands of cars and people that pass each day have a clue what you are, and if I know anything in business, you gotta go big, hard and fast. You've gotta get LOUD! (but don't upset the neighbours)

Peace. TWR