“We’re in the middle of nowhere. There’s nowhere to eat or drink other than what supermarkets offer – so we’re trying to make this a community space where people feel proud to invite their friends,” says Stacey Ayeh, who runs the Bouldr Bar taproom.

Stacey isn’t describing a cut-off rural village but is speaking about Thamesmead, where he has lived for 26 years. Despite having the Elizabeth Line close by, Superloop buses, numerous (old and new) housing estates, and plans for a Docklands Light Railway extension, it offers little in terms of eating or drinking out.  

“If the powers-that-be don’t double down their efforts to encourage more hospitality businesses to come here then the DLR station will just be another way for people to leave the town,” Stacey adds.

But if his plight trying to open Bouldr Bar in Cygnet Square is anything to go by, very few potential owners of bars, pubs or restaurants would feel that inspired to open up shop in this part of southeast London. 

Stacey started planning a taproom in Thamesmead to serve his Rock Leopard beers when the Peabody housing association won permission to build the Southmere estate, with Cygnet Square as its centrepiece, in 2016. It was also given the go-ahead to improve the surrounding lake as part of a project to eventually create 20,000 new homes.

At Cygnet Square 2,800 homes are eventually going to be built. Phase one is complete with 534 new homes. Phase two, next to the square, is due to be completed this winter and includes 329 new homes. A three-bedroom flat here is valued at £650,000, with an additional £4,000 annual service charge. 

Beer being poured from a pump
Stacey serves his own Rock Leopard beers in the bar. Image: David Jesudason/ The Greenwich Wire

Southmere’s unveiling was supposed to coincide with the Elizabeth Line coming to Abbey Wood in 2022, but the estate ended up opening the following year.

Bouldr finally served its first beers in May last year. On that bank holiday afternoon, beer was dispensed from a trestle table outside the building, with Stacey serving more than 100 customers. Those numbers are now common every day, with the bar hosting local book and sports clubs (like the Gayzelles). Stacey will soon be offering coffee mornings for senior citizens.

Bouldr Bar’s launch faced delays with wrangling over planning issues, such as increasing the number of toilets. The biggest headache was finding a way for a bar, planned brewery and food offering to meet Bexley Council’s requirements, because it is housed at ground level under new-build flats. 

Bexley’s regulations ban ground-floor commercial kitchens from using filters, and demands venues use a tower extractor with vents at the top of the building.     

Jenga table inside bar
The building’s landlord, Peabody, needs to carry out further work before a kitchen can be fitted. Image: David Jesudason/The Greenwich Wire

“There are restaurants in basements in Canary Wharf and all over the country: the technology is there,” Stacey says. “We have to have a kitchen here because we need it to be a proper flourishing business: I want it to be a little something for everyone, but more importantly, employ local people.”  

Bexley Council told The Greenwich Wire it would look into the issues Stacey had raised. 

Currently Stacey is using his home kitchen to prepare dishes, such as jollof rice, chicken and burritos. He believes a proper kitchen would mean he could employ six more people on top of the four staff he already has. 

If you think the people who would object to the kitchen would be his neighbours, then you’d be wrong – they are his most regular customers. 

“Everyone in this development was told there was going to be bars, restaurants and cafés,” adds Stacey. “It’s a 10-minute walk to Abbey Wood station so they lapped it up, but they’ve been here three years and nothing’s going on.” 

Man stood in front of Southmere Lake
There is a lack of food and drink options in Thamesmead, Stacey says. Image: David Jesudason/ The Greenwich Wire

The unit next door to Bouldr Bar remains empty. Stacey believes this was going to be occupied by Starbucks. 

Stacey believes that to create more food options, Peabody needs to build a tower vent system to keep the council happy. Bouldr Bar is in a state of flux until it can be installed – a new wall has been built but not painted. 

A spokesperson for Peabody told The Greenwich Wire: “Cygnet Square is home to a growing mix of shops, services and community spaces for local people, including a café and art gallery, a bar, gym, dentist, hair salon, pharmacy, health centre, library and public building. 

“Together they help to make it an interesting and useful place for people to visit throughout the day and into the evening. As well as enjoying both the café and the bar on the square, residents can visit the Thamesmead Social, a popular café overlooking Southmere Lake, less than a five-minute walk away.”

There is also the question of building brewing facilities. For now, Stacey brews his Rock Leopard beers using other breweries’ kit or collaborates with the likes of Manchester-based Cloudwater.

In 2022 Stacey launched a crowdfunder to buy brewing kit, with the aim of using the Bouldr Bar for apprenticeships. “We raised about £15K and every penny of that went to lawyers, VAT and navigating all the different hoops of opening up in a new-build,” Stacey says. 

“I got through a lot of hoops because it didn’t take long for others to realise how passionate I am about the bar.”

Stacey describes the past year as a transitional period – a “pop-up”. But once he can finally get a kitchen installed, Stacey – who is one of Britain’s few black brewers – will be able to start mentoring students who don’t normally see brewing as a viable profession. 

He has already been in touch with Shooters Hill Sixth Form College, which has its own restaurant, City View, and he hopes to host a similar operation but with beverages.

“People who are not from the usual backgrounds that go into brewing need to see something to believe it, and to be able to say ‘yes, it is possible’,” Stacey says. “And that’s the kind of place I want this to be.” 

Bouldr Bar sticker
The bar has already become a popular meeting point for residents. Image: David Jesudason/The Greenwich Wire

Stacey wants Bouldr Bar to be as inclusive as possible, and that has only become an issue when customers want the big brands normally found in chain pubs. But he is good at converting people to supporting local businesses.

“Whilst I have a passion for specialist beer – craft beer if you like – I’m more interested in community and what we can create here,” he says. 

“I could’ve done this in many, many other places and developers would’ve bitten my arm off after seeing my concept. But I want something nice in Thamesmead because I live here.”

Bouldr Bar is at Cygnet Square, SE2 9FE.  For updates, visit its Instagram page.             

David Jesudason is a British-Asian freelance journalist who was named Beer Writer of the Year in 2023 and 2025 by the British Guild of Beer Writers. His award-winning book, Desi Pubs, has been called “one of the most exciting books about beer and pubs in recent years”. He has a newsletter called Episodes of My Pub Life.

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