Ace Café Friday night closures to remain until September

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London’s Ace Café will close at 6pm on Friday evenings until September as a pre-emptive move to prevent a licence review, which could have shut down the historic venue for months.

Mark Wilsmore, Managing Director of the North Circular cafe, told MCN the closure was instigated after a usual Friday night meeting last month with a Metropolitan Police presence resulting in the seizure of three motorcycles.

“On that evening of Friday, June 23, the police were all over the place, seized three motorcycles which I anticipate, but I don’t know, had no insurance or something because there weren’t arrests, but the bikes were certainly seized,” he told MCN. “Also there was a guy who was stopped and arrested in possession of a stolen bike, so a good result.”

The cafe team took to social media on Thursday, June 29 to confirm the move, with a Facebook post stating: “As a consequence of illegal and unacceptable behaviour the Ace will close on Fridays at 6pm until further notice. Thanking you in advance for your support and understanding.”

Wilsmore continued: “The inference that one could draw, and it seems that the police are in danger of drawing, is that we’re responsible for these people. We can ill afford challenging the police on this, certainly not at this stage.”

The Ace was also contacted via email by the sergeant in charge of the local Safer Neighbourhood Team for the Borough of Brent, and the Met licensing team.

Wilsmore said: “I phoned the licensing chap and we had a good conversation with him simply reminding us of the conditions of our licence. In light of that conversation, we decided rather than risk ours, because if the police close us, in this circumstance, that would trigger what’s called a licence review.

“The licence review effectively means you will then close probably for three months, but we cannot risk being closed for three months. It was clear to my co-directors and I that we must close on Friday, we cannot risk this at all.”

The 6pm closure will remain until September 1, when the Ace will stay open until 11pm to begin celebrations of their 29th Ace Cafe Reunion weekend. For more events taking place at the venue visit London.acecafe.com.

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Ace Café forced into Friday night closures

First published June 30, 2023 updated July 11 by Stuart Prestidge

The Ace Café has announced its famous Friday night adrenaline meetings have had their wings clipped as the café has been forced to close its doors from 6pm until further notice.

Posts on its social media pages state: “As a consequence of illegal and unacceptable behaviour, the Ace Café is closed until further notice on Fridays at 6pm. Thanking you in advance for your support and understanding.”

Reaction to the announcement by the iconic London motorcycling Mecca has been positive, with many patrons commenting on social media the café has their continued support.

The café will liaise with police to find a solution with more information coming next week.