On August 19th 1996, Cafe Delight opened its doors at 19 Clapham High Street for the first time; Izzy was 16 and had just left school. Two years later Izzy’s father, Servet, passed away leaving the destiny of Cafe Delight in the hands of Izzy and his new wife, Mehtap. In 2017, Cafe Delight celebrated its 21st birthday, a remarkable achievement by Izzy and Mehtap (shown below) in a world of challenged high street traders and ubiquitous coffee shops and fast food outlets.
To celebrate its 21st anniversary, Cafe Delight hosted an exhibition of Jim’s photographs. On one wall of the cafe are displayed a set of images of daily life in the cafe (click here to view the gallery); on the other wall are portraits of Cafe Delight's ‘regulars’ (click here to view the gallery) some of whom have been coming since the cafe first opened. For many of the regulars, Cafe Delight isn’t just a cafe, it’s also a place to be part of a local community.
The photo-story was featured by the BBC News Website (click here) and BBC TV News (click here) which made some of the cafe’s regulars TV stars for a brief moment; the Evening Standard; Metro; amongst others. The ‘pop-up’ exhibition remains on display, 4 years later, as Cafe Delight celebrates its 25th anniversary!
