A disused public toilet on Tottenham High Road has been transformed into a pub.
Co-founders Chris and Alex Beeston have kept many of the Monument Way toilets' original 1920s features.
The premises has been named The High Cross due to the nearby historic monument that marked the centre of Tottenham Village in the 17th century.
Chris Johnson, said: “The public convenience dates back to this period and it was a toilet up to about 30 years ago when it fell into disuse.
“We’re going to keep the ‘Ladies’ and ‘Gentlemen’ signs outside and light them up at night, while inside we’ve kept a lot of the original tiles as well as the original dividing walls.
“We’ll also be paying homage to its history with artworks including some beautiful old postcards of Tottenham.
“And we’re very keen on this becoming a community space.
“We’re discussing doing community events such as cookery classes, hosting local musicians, and giving local societies and groups the option to meet here in the day as – to begin with – we won’t be opening until late afternoon on weekdays, whereas at weekends we’ll be open all day long.”
Both Chris and Alex have 10 years' experience working in the hospitality industry.
They will serve local beers and other drinks as well as Sunday roasts, stews, bar snacks, salads and puddings.
Alex Beeston, who will be working the bar, added: “To turn this site into something completely different from what it was before is very exciting.
“Our background is in public houses so we’ll be serving local beers as well as coffees and teas and soft drinks and they will all be reasonably priced in our ‘micro-pub’.
“We’ll be bringing a community asset to the area.
“It will be a nice place for Tottenham residents to come and we aim to create something that people are proud of and can say, ‘This is ours’.”
Chris and Alex heard of the availability of the public toilets through Haringey Council advertising it as a potential leasehold.
Their application was accepted and for the past few months they have been working to make the premises into their ideal establishment.
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