Thorne’s Foods opened on Upper Gardner Street in Brighton’s North Laine earlier this year, offering a revolutionary local, fresh food concept, bringing together a Sussex farmers’ market, café and restaurant spread over three floors. The ground floor of the superbly restored and characterful antiques auction warehouse is a bustling, atmospheric food store come farmers’ market, offering customers a choice of carefully-sourced local deli products, a full butchery, fish, groceries, bread, cakes, flowers and wine, with late opening hours for busy workers, seven days a week.

Upstairs is a contemporary café by day and restaurant by night, with an open plan kitchen and cityscape views over the chimney pots of Brighton, both of which draw on the fresh local produce available in store below. The chefs create the menus each day depending on what is fresh and seasonal, with hearty breakfasts, tasty lunchtime platters, then sumptuous British cuisine in the evenings for candle-lit dinner in the spacious rustic 180 year old warehouse.

Brighton resident and owner Jason Hurwitz says: “Our philosophy is simple – great food comes from bringing the right, fresh ingredients together in the right way and our suppliers are superb, ranged from across the beautiful counties of Sussex. We believe in quality and choice and we bring the taste of every season into the city, so that local people can enjoy it when it’s absolutely fresh.”

The team at Thorne’s has set out to show Brighton people that if you are looking for more than supermarket offers, want to eat well and support local, then there is now an easy alternative where staff are knowledgeable, the range is extensive and prices are affordable. www.thornesfoods.co.uk