In this week's blog I want to talk about London cafes - or just caffs as we like to call them round here. Actually this blog post is prompted by a saddening newspaper article I read at the weekend.

Let me first explain what I mean by London caff and then I'll tell you about the problem. 

The traditional London caff first emerged in the 1950s and 60s and was typically owned by Italians living in the UK. They typified an era when London emerged from the gloom of the Second World War and added a bit of colour to the post-war social and commercial scene. Within a decade of the first espresso bar opening in 1953 (the Moka) London had become one of the hippest cities in the world and was at the centre of the fashion, music and art of the swinging sixties and the caff was often the centre of the local social scene.

Caffs are often described as 'greasy spoons' which describes the kind of fried food that was often served there and they were most commonly visited by working class men.

Today in London many of the caffs retain the same original furnishings and decoration from the 1950s and 60s and have a unique ambiance and atmosphere. Now here's the problem ...

Today the big coffee chains like Starbucks are forcing traditional caffs out of business by raising rents to an exhorbitant level that these small family-run businesses simply can't afford.

It is thought that there are only around 500 of these caffs remaining in the whole of the UK, but many of these are disappearing fast. In a couple of years they may all be gone. 

The reason I feel so passionate about this is that Tony's caff is one of these few remaining classic caffs and I'm worried that we may lose it forever. Wherever I go in the world I see Starbucks, but I never go there out of principle - I always try to find a local cafe, where the coffee is sure to be better tasting and probably at half the price. 

How do you feel about the loss of small businesses in your area to make way for the likes of Starbucks, Pizza Hut and McDonalds?

Long live Tony's!