THE WINE MERCHANT. An independent magazine for independent retailers
Issue 158, June 2026
Dog of the month: Nellie Grape & Grain, Crediton
Brighton indie’s relocation scuppered for a second time Seven Cellars, which had huge public support in its battle against eviction, receives bad news about its planned move
B
righton independent Seven Cellars – whose battle against eviction by the Co-op became a cause célèbre in
the Sussex city and on social media – has received a major setback in its plans to relocate. Owner Louise Oliver was thwarted in her first attempt to find new premises by a landlord who later decided to try to sell the property rather than lease it. She then found an alternative unit in the Seven Dials neighbourhood, but that deal has now been scuppered by objections from a tenant in the flat above. Oliver has spent many thousands of pounds on wasted legal and licensing fees as well as other costs associated with the planned relocations. Although she has not yet given up hope of finding another Seven Dials site, the business will retrench to its much smaller store on June 26 when the Co-op takes back the keys. “We’d exchanged draft leases, and I’d applied for the licence,” says Oliver, referring to the most recent saga. “The plan was for it to be a wine shop and deli with a small ancillary wine bar. I’m a retailer, I love being a retailer – that’s always going to be my thing – but as we were going to be tripling our rent, I just needed to make sure that we had that extra revenue coming in. “There were only going to be four
Steph DiCamillo, owner of Wine & Such in south east London, is one of several independent merchants who say offering wine on tap creates savings for their business as well as for their customers. Read how in our feature starting on page 48.