Frank the Bethnal green coffee man can stay

After a long six-month battle Frank Wang, the Bethnal Green station coffee vendor, has been granted the right to stay on his pitch and continue to serve his coffees and snacks.

Frank faced closure in the face of the new bar/restaurant Chiringuito and new regulations. But after an exhaustive consultation Transport for London decided that with Frank’s new plans to have a slim line coffee set up, he would be allowed to stay.

Frank said that he was delighted with the news and looked forward to serving his friends and residents of the borough the best cup of coffee in the area.

Friends of Frank, and Frank himself wishes to thank all those who signed the petition - over 4000 - and the many hundreds who came out to protest. We all also want to thank Transport for London, Mayor for London Sadiq Khan, Deputy Mayor Heidi Alexander, The Evening Standard, and TFl Commissioner Will Norman, Mayor John Biggs, Cllr Sirajul Islam, Unmesh Desai AM,
Cllr David Edgar and local MP Rushanara Ali.

What the campaign for Frank shows is that local residents can have their say and make a difference, and with political support and leadership, hard working, community minded entrepenours such as Frank can coexist along side bigger businesses too.

We’ve still got some work to do, but today we can rejoice that our efforts have been rewarded, and our friend, Frank will soon be back in business serving coffee with a smile.

Simon Woolley

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=B1bdiJcYvYU