Brothers open Turkish eatery in former bank

Salih Solak was formerly a barber in March but now runs F&S Majestic with his brother

A historical building that was most recently a bank has become a new eatery in a market town.

Brothers Faruk Solak, 26, and Salih Solak, 28, have opened a Turkish restaurant, F&S Majestic, in the building on Broad Street in March, Cambridgeshire, which was a NatWest bank until July 2023.

March & District Museum said the site has formerly been a theatre, school and chapel before opening as a bank in 1935.

A Fenland District Council spokesperson said it was delighted to see new businesses bringing trade to the regenerated town centre.

The site was previously a theatre, but in 1960 it was running as a bank

The two brothers previously worked for their father, who runs a Turkish barber shop in March.

It was while they were chatting to customers in their father's barbers that the idea for an eatery developed, when customers suggested that it would be good to have a restaurant in the town where they could eat traditional Turkish cuisine.

"It is my first time running a restaurant, so I am really excited and hope it all goes well," said Mr Solak.

"We are thrilled to bring this old building back to life and are pleased with how it now looks," he added.

The new Turkish restaurant opened in the town on 18 October

David Edwards, an archivist at the March and District Museum, said the building was originally constructed and opened as a theatre from 1826 until 1845. It then became a mechanics institute, which provided adult education for working men in the Victorian era.

From 1860 to about 1872 it was a chapel of ease, for people who could not reach the parish church conveniently.

After that it was used as temporary school while other schools were being built or extended.

The Broad Street site photographed in 1933, before it was demolished to house the National Provincial Bank

"Around 1874 it was used as a church hall by St John’s until their new church hall was built in Station Road in 1934," said Mr Edwards.

"[The building] was sold in 1933 to National Provincial Bank, who demolished it along with the adjoining shop and built their new bank on the site, which opened in 1935.

"In 1970 the National Provincial Bank merged with the Westminster Bank to form the National Westminster Bank," he added.

Broad Street in the town of March photographed in about 1900

A spokesperson from Fenland District Council said: "The opening of several new businesses in the town centre in the last 18 months, including two national retail chains and personal care businesses, are a real sign that the town centre investment from the Future High Streets Fund is helping to build confidence in the town both now and for the future.

"We are pleased that the works undertaken to upgrade the town are having a positive impact on businesses taking the opportunity to come and set up in March," it added.

The building then became a NatWest bank in 2005