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	IPellicci's Listed: Authentic East End Deco cafe safeguarded for Nation

LONDON'S TRUE HERITAGE: EAST END GREASY SPOON IS TO BE LISTED NEVIO PELLICCI has received a listing letter from English Heritage. "Is it good then? 'Cos we weren't sure." It certainly is. Caffs don't normally get listed. First, they are rarely design classics. Second, even if they are, they rarely survive intact. But Pellicci's is different. The unofficial greasy spoon at the heart of East End life has been in the Pellicci family for more than a century, since Nevio's parents bought the building on Bethnal Green Road "around 1900". And then there's its interior. Built in 1946, Pellicci's is "a remarkable place", coos the letter from English Heritage, salivating over its "deep custard-colour Vitralite frieze", the "intricate Art Deco style marquetry panelling", the "Egyptian style capitals". But it's no museum. The place hums with regulars from 6.30am, and knick-knacks, snaps of the family, and Charlie the family dog keep the place unpretentious. "I'm immensely pleased," says Adrian Maddox, the author of the cult book Classic Cafés. "Just like Betjeman would have been when a piece of Victoriana was saved." If there's a design classic on your high street, write to English Heritage detailing its design features. As Maddox says, "It's our duty to keep the streets safe from blandness." Tom Dyckhoff (The Times, February 15 2005) English Heritage records show several other listed buildings that appear to have protected cafes (often Art Deco) attached to them: The Forum 1-5 Forum Building, Southgate Street, Bath, Somerset Grade II Number 20 Bridge Street and Row, Chester Grade II ABC Cinema and Regal Ballroom High Street, Beckenham, Bromley Grade II London Opera Centre Commercial Road, Stepney, London Grade II The Top Rank Club (formerly Essoldo Cinema) Chester Road, Stretford, Trafford, Greater Manchester Grade II Nos. 217, 219 and 221 Marine Road, Central Morecambe, Lancashire Grade II

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