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![]() A BSA rider at an Ace Cafe gathering in 2007 | |
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Restaurant information | |
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Established | 1938 |
City | London |
Coordinates | 51°32′28″N0°16′40″W / 51.5412°N 0.2778°W |
Website | https://london.acecafe.com/ |
The Ace Cafe is an old transport cafe located near Wembley, North West London, England. Situated next to the North Circular Road, it is historically a notable venue in motorcycle culture. The original cafe opened in 1938 and closed in 1969. It re-opened on the original site in 1997 as a cafe, functions, and entertainment venue.
The Ace Cafe is located on a leg on the western side of the North Circular Road, off the junction with Beresford Avenue. On the A406 it is between the Hanger Lane gyratory and the Wembley A404 junction. It is east of the Alperton neighbourhood, close by Stonebridge and the Park Royal industrial estate, just west of Stonebridge Park station and the Brent Viaduct.
Apart from the cafe on the original site in London, Ace Cafe London have opened cafes in other countries: Ace Corner Lahti, Finland (opened in June 2011), Ace Cafe Luzern, Switzerland (opened in June 2015), Ace Cafe Beijing, China (opened in July 2015), Ace Cafe Barcelona, Spain (opened in April 2017), and Ace Cafe Orlando, United States of America (opened in May 2017). [1]
The Ace Cafe opened in 1938 to accommodate traffic on the then-new North Circular Road. It was built on an area between the Grand Union Canal and Stonebridge Park Depot. Because the cafe was open 24 hours a day, it started to attract motorcyclists in the evening and at weekends, becoming popular in the 1950s and 1960s with the Rockers, whereupon Reverend Bill Shergold initially visited to invite them to join the 59 Club. [2]
The cafe was rebuilt in 1949, after an air raid on the nearby Willesden railway marshalling yards caused damage during World War II. Events in the postwar environment made the Ace a success – the emergence of the teenager, an increase in traffic, and the British motorcycle industry at its peak. Young people started to meet at the cafe to socialise, gather their motorcycles, and listen to rock'n'roll on juke boxes. Bands and motorcycle enthusiast groups formed there.
The cafe closed in 1969, shortly after the opening of the Scratchwood Services at what was then the southern end of the M1 motorway. The ground floor of the building became a tyre sales and fitting shop. [3] The first floor was occupied by a vehicle delivery company.
With increasing popularity of the Rocker revival and discussions with original 59 Club members, [2] the first Ace Cafe reunion was organised by Mark Wilsmore and held in 1994. [3]
The cafe reopened in 1997, with complete refurbishment completed by September 2001. [4] Rockers and motorcyclists from all over the world attend themed meetings. It is no longer open 24-hours but the cafe now has an extensive calendar of events for both motorbike and classic car owners.
It also hosts weekly live music and DJs, and is approved for weddings and civil partnerships. [5]
The Ace Cafe was used as a location in the 1964 film The Leather Boys , Sidney J. Furie's British gay-interest kitchen sink drama, starring Rita Tushingham. [6]
In the past it has been used for the Channel 5 TV programme Fifth Gear in the seasons 10 to 13 (September 2006 until March 2008), and for ITV programme Used Car Roadshow. It has also featured in the BBC television series By Any Means with Charley Boorman; mentioned as a favourite for Ewan McGregor by his wife in the documentary, Long Way Down; and the 2008 film Freebird .
The cafe also featured in an edition of Car SOS – Season 1, Episode 9, presented by Tim Shaw, filmed during 2012 and shown in the UK on at least one TV channel – National Geographic. The episode depicted the secret restoration of a decaying Ford Zodiac Mk1, which was then unveiled and presented to the unsuspecting owner in the car park, close to the building entrance. [7] [8]
Motoring TV presenters Edd China and Mike Brewer filmed at Ace Cafe on a Hot Rod night in early 2014 during a sequence to sell a Chevrolet Camaro, part of Wheeler Dealers series 11. [9] [10]
The Ace Cafe won London Borough of Brent's "Best Bar None" award for local bars in 2009. [11]
Neasden is a suburban area in northwest London, England. It is located around the centre of the London Borough of Brent and is within the NW2 (Cricklewood) and NW10 (Willesden) postal districts. Neasden is near Wembley Stadium, the Welsh Harp, and Gladstone Park; the reservoir and River Brent marks its boundaries with Kingsbury and Wembley, while Gladstone Park and the Dudding Hill line separates it from Dollis Hill and Church End respectively. The A406 North Circular Road runs through the middle of Neasden; to the west is the Neasden Underground Depot, Brent Park retail area and the St Raphael's Estate; on the east is Neasden tube station, the large Neasden Temple, and former Neasden Power Station. The area is known as the place where Bob Marley lived after moving from Jamaica, living at a house in The Circle; the house was honoured with a blue plaque in 2012.
Brent is a borough in north-west London, England. It is known for landmarks such as Wembley Stadium, the Swaminarayan Temple and the Kiln Theatre. It also contains the Welsh Harp reservoir and the Park Royal commercial estate. The local authority is Brent London Borough Council.
Wembley is a large suburb in the London Borough of Brent, north-west London, 8 miles (13 km) northwest of Charing Cross. It includes the neighbourhoods of Alperton, North Wembley, Preston, Sudbury, Tokyngton and Wembley Park. The population was 102,856 in 2011.
Willesden is an area of north-west London, situated 5 miles (8 km) north-west of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933; it has formed part of the London Borough of Brent in Greater London since 1965. Dollis Hill is also sometimes referred to as being part of Willesden.
The North Circular Road is a 25.7-mile-long (41.4 km) ring road around Central London in England. It runs from Chiswick in the west to Woolwich in the east via suburban North London, connecting various suburbs and other trunk roads in the region. Together with its counterpart, the South Circular Road, it mostly forms a ring road around central London, except for crossing of the River Thames, which is done by the Woolwich Ferry.
Stonebridge Park is a London Overground and London Underground station in Tokyngton and Stonebridge, north-west London. It is on both the London Overground Watford DC line and London Underground Bakerloo line. It is located on Argenta Way, and is named after the nearby junction connecting the North Circular Road (A406) with the Harrow Road (A404).
Rockers are members or followers of a biker subculture that originated in the United Kingdom during the late 1950s and was popular in the 1960s. It was mainly centred on motorcycles and rock 'n' roll music. By 1965, the term greaser had also been introduced to Great Britain and, since then, the terms greaser and rocker have become synonymous within the British Isles, although used differently in North America and elsewhere. Rockers were also derisively known as Coffee Bar Cowboys. Their Japanese counterpart was called the Kaminari-Zoku.
A café racer is a genre of sport motorcycles that originated among British motorcycle enthusiasts of the early 1960s in London. Café racers were standard production bikes that were modified by their owners and optimized for speed and handling for quick rides over short distances. Café racers have since become popular around the world, and some manufacturers produce factory-made models that are available in the showrooms.
The 59 Club, also written as The Fifty Nine Club and known as 'the 9', is a British motorcycle club with members distributed internationally.
London Buses route 18 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Sudbury & Harrow Road station and Euston bus station, it is operated by London United.
The intake/inlet over exhaust, or "IOE" engine, known in the US as F-head, is a four-stroke internal combustion engine whose valvetrain comprises OHV inlet valves within the cylinder head and exhaust side-valves within the engine block.
Stonebridge is a locality in the London Borough of Brent. Stonebridge is situated in southern Brent, on Harrow Road between Harlesden and Wembley. The A404 runs through the district known locally as Brentfield and Hillside, while to the south are railway tracks and to the west is the North Circular Road along with Stonebridge Park station. The area is known for the previously troubled 1960s Stonebridge housing estate, which was completely redeveloped in the 2010s.
A motorcycle handlebar is a tubular component of a motorcycle's steering mechanism. Handlebars provide a mounting place for controls such as brake, throttle, clutch, horn, light switches and rear view mirrors; and they help to support part of the rider's weight. Even when a handlebar is a single piece it is usually referred to in the plural as handlebars.
Tokyngton, also locally known as Monks Park, is a locality that forms the southeastern part of the town of Wembley in Greater London, in the London Borough of Brent, England. Most refer it as being either Wembley or Stonebridge, as the name Tokyngton is historical and out of favour, hardly used by locals and not noted as a destination on road signs, except for street names and public places bearing the name. Tokyngton was first mentioned in 1171, its name meaning "the farm of the sons of Toca". However the name does officially survive as an electoral ward of Brent London Borough Council.
Fryent Country Park, together with Barn Hill Open Space, is a large park situated in the north of the London Borough of Brent. It covers 103 hectares of rolling fields and small woods.
Harlesden railway station was a station in northwest London on the south side of the southern section of a road called Craven Park, which is part of the A404 Harrow Road between Paddington and Wembley. The station was sometimes known as Harrow Road or as Stonebridge Park.
St Raphael's Estate is a housing estate in Neasden and part of the London Borough of Brent in Northwest London, England. A community centre is located within the estate on Rainborough Close. It forms part of the NW10 postcode.
Chalkhill Estate is located in the Wembley Park area of North West London. It was originally one of three large council estates built in the London Borough of Brent by the early 1970s, along with Stonebridge and South Kilburn. The design was based on that of Park Hill in Sheffield. The high-rise estate was demolished by 2000 and gradually replaced by new low-rise builds.
A biker bar is a bar that is frequented by bikers. Some are owned or managed by people who are friendly toward bikers. Some bars and restaurants advertise that they are "biker friendly" to attract more bikers and motorcycle (bike) enthusiasts. Biker bars are patronized by people from all walks of life, including bikers, non-bikers, and motorcycle club adherents, including outlaw motorcycle clubs.
Wembley Intercity Depot is an Electric Traction Depot located in Wembley, London Borough of Brent, England. The depot is situated alongside Wembley Yard, on the eastern side of the West Coast Main Line, to the south of Wembley Central station.