After a recent visit to the Ace cafe and a plate of Chilli, chips and cheese, it came to our attention that we had no information whatsoever on the site about possibly the most famous bikers cafe in the World!! This was something we had to rectify immediately. Having met the owner Mark Wilsmore, we spent most of the afternoon and evening talking to him about the place, the bikes, the people and the just what happens there now.

It seemed more than appropriate that we should put up a feature on the Ace Cafe, so we invited Mark to write one himself..and here it is..

Motorcycles, rock n’ roll and the Ace Cafe…..

Three simple expressions but they represent perhaps the most powerful fusion, not only in yesterday’s rock n’ roll era, but also in todays

The Ace Cafe was built in 1938 as a roadside cafe to cater for traffic using the new North Circular Road. In World War Two, the building was badly damaged and subsequently rebuilt in 1949. It was a state-of-the-art cafe and one of the first to use neon signage. With it’s proximity to Britains new and fast arterial road network, and staying open 24 hours, the Ace Cafe soon attracted hoards of young motorcyclists who were bored and searching for their own identity. They found it at the Ace, together with the ‘devils’ music – rock n’ roll.

With the advent of the ‘teenager’ in the early fifties, the Ace boomed with the arrival of the Ton-Up Boys. The British motorcycle industry was at its peak, when along came rock n’ roll. It wasn’t played on radio stations, so the only places it could be heard were at fairgrounds or on Jukeboxes at transport cafes.

“Drop the coin right into the slot”……

From this powerful fusion of motorbikes and rock n’ roll, came the legends of record racing. Dropping a coin into the slot, then racing to a given point and back before the record finished, turning the North Circular Road into an unofficial race track.

Come the sixties, the Rocker had emerged, and the Ace Cafe became the launching pad for many of our British rock n’ roll bands, like Johnny Kidd & The Pirates. Gene Vincent also visited the cafe on one of his tours, and the Beatles are reputed to have been there before they became famous.

The rock n’ roll peak was over by the mid-sixties, made safe by The Beatles and pushed aside by Carnaby Street and the Mod era. The changes in the social order and growth of the car market, at the expense of the motorbike, saw the Ace Cafe serve its last egg and chips in 1969.

Following its demise, the building has been used as a filling station, bookmakers, vehicle distributors, and tyre depot, but remained largely unaltered. Driven by his passion for bikes, rock n’ roll and history, in 1993 Mark Wilsmore, with the permission of the owners of the site, set about planning an event to mark the 25th anniversary of the cafes closure, with a dream to re-open the place. That event, in September 1994 attracted 12,000 motorcyclists and rock n’ roll fans from far and wide.

A film, entitled ‘An Ace Day’ was made, featuring interviews with former patrons of the Ace and today’s riders, to a rock n’ roll soundtrack. There followed a seven year labour of love, which saw Mark obtain planning consent to turn the premises back into a cafe, and eventually purchase the site and building. Initially opening a part of the building at weekends and putting on events with the aid of a burger van for three years. In March 1999 potential disaster struck, a hatch on the main North London water supply exploded in spectacular fashion! Buried ten feet under the Ace car park, it wreaked havoc, with the resultant flooding submerging the adjacent section of the North Circular Road, which remained closed for almost a week. The huge blast had a severe effect on the structure of the building. Debris and bikes were blown skywards on a wall of high pressure water, shattering the windows and damaging the roof. Despite this setback, Mark’s determination to save this legendary icon continued unabated.

The beat goes on…..

The Grand Re-opening took place in September 2001. The Ace Cafe today, is a 21st Century fully licensed cafe-restaurant and venue, with plenty of reminders about it’s colourful history. There are numerous events held throughout the year to cater for all ‘petrol heads’, from BSA Day through to the modern Sports bike enthusiast, or Hot Rod to Classic Car meets. The atmosphere is very laid-back, you can relax and read the latest magazines, challenge your mates to a game of table football, play the pinball machines, listen to the Jukebox or simply drool over the amazing array of machinery that turns up.

On Saturday nights, with room to dance, the cafe’s extensive gig list can feature top Rock n’ Roll artists such as Robert Gordon, Linda Gail-Lewis, through to a real rockabilly hoe-down with contemporary bands & DJs. Many gigs are fund-raisers, like the annual Billy Fury Memorial Night, held in conjunction with the ‘Sound of Fury’ Fan Club, with ticket sales going towards a Billy Fury Music Scholarship. You can book celebrations and parties, in fact the management are open to all suggestions, so check it out!

Don't forget about the Ace Cafe Reunion - A weekend steeped in class and style

Friday 10th & Saturday 11th Sept at Ace Cafe London
Sunday 12th Sept Madeira Drive Brighton

Focusing on bikes and their riders, whatever your style, Ace Cafe Reunion attracts people from all over the world who share the spirit of the Ace Cafe. Starting on Friday 10th September through to Sunday 12th, the weekend will inject a party atmosphere at the cafe, with bands, DJ's and special guests plus the Kill Spills Motorcycle Demo Ride from the cafe to 10 Downing Street. Sunday includes the hugely popular rally on Brighton's famous seafront, with club stands, stalls, displays and some of that good old rock n' roll music!

Ace Cafe London
Ace Corner
North Circular Road
Stonebridge
London NW10 7UD

Tel: 020 8961 1000
Website: www.ace-cafe-london.com

Open 7 days a week. Monday to Friday 7am – 11pm. Saturday 7am to 2am. Sunday 7am – 10.30pm