Yo Cowes! G4 Star Mike Christie Set To Serve Sushi At New Bath House Café

Plans have been revealed to transform a long-unused building in Cowes, Isle of Wight into a new café and community space.

Mike Christie, a member of chart-topping vocal group G4 and organiser of the Wight Proms Festival, hopes to redevelop the redundant building at the junction of Park Road and Terminus Road.

Working with local builders and Cowes-based heritage architect Leah Mew, the plans would see the site turned into The Bath House — a café with sushi forming part of its menu.

The venue will take its name from the building’s original use in the 1940s, when residents of Cowes paid to use its bathing facilities.

The site was also used as public toilets for a time but has stood empty and fallen into disrepair for around 15 years.

Mike says he hopes the project will help bring new life to the area.

He explained that as a Cowes resident he is passionate about seeing the town thrive and hopes the new café will offer something unique while complementing the town’s existing restaurants and cafés, saying:

“I am passionate about seeing the town thrive.

"Hopefully, my plans will add something totally unique yet completely complimentary to all the wonderful places to eat and drink the town offers already.”

Mike says that as well as providing a place for people to come together and enjoy

good food and drink, sourced locally wherever possible, he also wanted to provide

other reasons for people to come together at The Bath House.

Ideas under consideration include making the venue a ticket hub where people could get tickets to local events or providing ‘pit stop’ facilities for cyclists.

He continued:

“I just want to bring back to life a building that has fallen into complete disrepair and hasn’t been used for 15 or so years into something that people will enjoy visiting.

“It has also been great to develop the food side of the business plan with another well-known and much-loved restaurateur, and we hope to be revealing much more about his in the near future.”

As well as serving food and drink — with local produce used where possible — the venue could also act as a hub for the community.

Ideas being considered include selling tickets for local events and providing a ‘pit stop’ for cyclists.

Plans show the new building as a single-storey development within the existing footprint, with large windows to create a bright interior and a decked outdoor seating area.

A new architectural feature at the front will also nod to the historic design of nearby Northwood House.

Mike also hopes to include a piano inside the venue to allow for small acoustic performances, sing-alongs and relaxed background music, enthusiastically explaining:

“As a singer and composer, I’m keen to have a piano at the venue to enable intimate pop-up events, sing-a-longs and gorgeously relaxing background music on the piano - all done acoustically.”

He says he would also like to hear from anyone who remembers using the building as a bath house.

The final plans are still being prepared, but Mike hopes The Bath House will open in Cowes later this summer.