Our Story

Founded over 20 years ago, Christies Wine Bar started at just 1/3 of the size it stands today. Mr Derek Evans opened Christies as a small bar with an even smaller bistro, but as the years went by and the love for the business expanded, so did the building. He bought out the shops that were next door and began to grow the business, creating a large square shaped bar area, upstairs function suite, a larger restaurant with a beer garden to the side which is situated on the famously named Rossetti Memorial Garden. Mr Evans retired and sold the business on to his Manageress, Sue Davies in 2015 where it remains a family run bar & bistro with her husband Paul and daughter Bex. 
 

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But that’s just recent history. Going back to the 1800’s, the building was originally known as ‘Seabreeze Cycle Factory’ which is where the first even ladies bicycle was created by George Cousins. This is the reason behind the bicycle on our logo. George Cousins built and opened his Seabreeze Lady's Cycle Factory here at Station Approach, Birchington in the early 1870's, soon after the railway was opened to birchington in 1863.(The building could well have been built by George himself, as he is listed in the 1883/4 Kelly's Directory as a builder at these very premises.) His advertisement in that journal states that he was the Patentee of the design of the lady's bicycles, but unfortunately he did not get the official patent registered correctly.