Grandad’s Front Room could lose its venue in 2023- turns to community for help

Danny Dawes Danny Dawes, owner of Grandad’s Front Room, made the announcement via Facebook on Saturday morning. He said that, even though the store has been closed since the start of lockdown, it was being used to store what stock they had. Even so, the charity has been based in its town centre venue since 2016 and Mr Dawes made clear that Grandad’s Front Room feels at home where it is.

He said: He said: “At the end of the day, we would love to stay here because people know where we are, they know where to come. We don’t want to re-establish ourselves somewhere else, because it would take a lot of hard work.”

Not willing tog give up, Mr Dawes has asked the community what it wants to see Grandad’s Front Room Do.

He said:“I want to get as many of the community involved in it as possible, because it’s their shop. At the end of the day, this is the community empowering the community.”

In a Facebook post written on Tuesday, the charity laid out three possibilities:

Grandad’s Front Room can raise funds to secure storage and stay in its present venue until the end of the lease.

It can raise funds to move to a different venue elsewhere.

Or it can fund-raise to purchase the current building at a guide price of £89,950, in which case it would be owned by the community, rather than Grandad’s Front Room itself, securing the charity’s future.

To respond to the charity’s appeal, visit its Facebook page.

Grandad’s Front Room, which won the special recognition award from the High Sheriff of West Sussex last year, has been in Bognor Regis since 2016, and offers food, support, furniture to those in need in the community. The shop prides itself on being an open, communal and welcoming space for everyone in Bognor Regis and beyond.