An ice cream ‘war’ is looming after a mobile operator vowed to continue trading despite being banned from Wisbech Park where he has sold ice cream for many years. Frank Cannata said he has been told he is no longer welcome in the park after new tenants – the Italian Affair restaurant in in Wisbech run by town councillor Shahid Rafique – moved in.
Wisbech town council manage the café inside the new £850,000 pavilion which opened last summer operated by a partnership trading as the Crazy Cow café and restaurant.
However, when they moved on after a few months, the café was again put out to new tender and re-opened on Sunday.
Mr Cannata, currently on holiday in Mexico, spoke to me today and promised his mobile van would remain in Wisbech, and trade from a spot near the park.
And he pledged that his customers would be ‘rewarded’ by taking advantage of a newly introduced loyalty card that offers discounts and other perks.
He said Franks had traded in the park for many years and he carried on a tradition began by his father.
Mr Cannata said he had been one of the unsuccessful applicants to take over the café when it was first advertised.
“We came to an amicable agreement with Crazy Cow which allowed us to sell ice creams however we did not sell drinks when the café was open; after 4pm when the café closed for the day, and on Mondays when they were closed all day, we did.”
He said Fenland District Council contacted him when the café came up for a new tender “but I thought not this time”.
Intrigued, he said, by Facebook posts for the new café being submitted by anonymous posts on the café he at first thought nothing of it.
“I then asked we could continue with ice creams in the park but were told by Fenland Council that we would not be allowed to.
“I can’t see the problem, but clearly they did.”
Mr Cannata said he had always made an annual ‘thank you’ donation for being allowed to trade from the park and last year, for instance, he donated £800 to an Alzheimer’s charity.
Later this month – he has a date in mind to coincide with Easter school holidays – he expects to be back in Wisbech, and close to the park.
“And we will be offering a loyalty card to give back to my customers who have supported me,” he said.
“I remain confused about the pavilion café, but I have no criticism of the council.”
Crazy Café at Wisbech pavilion closed on November 3, with the owners saying there were “several issues that were out of our control and as much as we tried to rectify them, it caused friction with the landlords”. Bad weather and lack of park users is also blamed.
“The weather has not been on our side, and the park is not as busy as we had hoped.
“Unfortunately, the pavilion building wasn’t built to cope with the cooking of hot food, and this didn’t become clear until we took it on.”
The owners add: “There were several issues that were out of our control and as much as we tried to rectify them, it caused friction with the landlords.
“We hope the next people in the café have aligned visions with the council to make it a success.”
Wisbech Town Council was approved to manage the £850,000 community pavilion and as part of the agreement was given permission to sub-let the café.
The town council said that following “a rigorous bidding process”, Crazy Cow Catering Ltd was granted a licence to operate the café element of Wisbech Park Pavilion.
The café opened to the public on Tuesday 26 March 2024
In their bid to Wisbech Town Council for a licence to operate the café, Gemma, Joey, Summer, and Danny of Crazy Cow Catering Ltd said: “We want to make the café the hub of the community.”
Fenland District Council says it “primarily funded” the pavilion but with grants from Cambridgeshire County Council, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority and the Government’s Changing Places initiative.
Almost £300,000 of the cost came from the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority.
As well as the money from the Combined Authority’s Market Towns Programme, the project also received funding from Cambridgeshire County Council’s Communities Capital Fund, the Government’s Changing Places initiative, and Fenland District Council.
The café re-opened on Sunday at a ceremony performed by the Mayor of Wisbech, Cllr Sidney Imafidon and attended by town councillors.
The Fenland Citizen, in their report of the opening, wrote: “The new operators, who will run the business under the name Wisbech Park Cafe, are already well-known in Wisbech for good food as they run the Italian Affair in New Inn Yard, off Union Street”.
Franks Ices meanwhile have set up a Facebook group to win support for their business.
Their first post said: “We at have been trading at Wisbech park for many years; now the cafe has reopened we are not allowed to trade on the park because the cafe is doing Ice creams.
“We have had so many messages off our disappointed customers that we are not in the grounds we have decided to park outside the grounds.
“We will be offering a loyalty card and will be doing happy hours buy one get one free.”
The post concluded: “We will give you location in due course and we will be opening a page called Frank Ices Outside Wisbech Park; join the group and hear you’ll be able to have updates of our special promotions when we are at our location to my lovely friends and loyal customers, thank you for your time.”
