IF you are yet to discover a café set out on an idyllic lake with heaps of character, gluten-free cakes and a toasty wood burning fire, fear not – we have found it for you.
You can identify it by the old traditional red telephone box situated at the edge of its drive on Warrington Road in Croft, and if that’s not a big enough hint, the actual name of the hidden gem is ‘The Red Telephone Box Tearoom’.
Owners of the quirky establishment, mother and daughter duo Jane and Natalie Sutherland first opened the café back in August 2020 and have faced several lockdown hurdles since then.
Jane, a former accounts assistant, asked her carpenter husband Sean, whose workshop is situated opposite the café to transform the disused space into her unique vision and the hard work paid off as the tearoom is a much-loved spot for walkers and locals.
“We had the idea a few months before Covid to open the café but instead of keeping holding off we just went for it. Once Covid hit we had to shut down and then when re-opened things were slow at first, but we just kept going and now we are building up a fair amount of regulars,” Jane said.
The tearoom offers hot drinks, sandwiches, homemade soup and cakes made from scratch by Jane and Natalie, with many of the cakes being gluten-free to be inclusive of intolerances.
Some of the regulars favourites include lemon drizzle and raspberry bakewell sponge.
Co-owner, Natalie, worked previously as a primary school teacher at Woolston Primary for five years before jumping into business with her mum.
And she explained how their growing footfall is attracting people from far and wide now.
“We have noticed people are coming from further out now and social media and word of mouth has helped that,” Natalie said. “We still have new faces coming in everyday who didn’t know we were here, but we are building our customer base at a good pace.”
The 29-year-old said how her, and her mum ‘enjoy’ working together as they are ‘very close’ and ‘very similar’ in character.
Jane, 56, described the tearoom as an ‘intimate’ space, only holding a capacity of 24 people, but that this adds charm to the venue.
“With it being a small space, we get to know people, we can have a chat with people and get to know faces,” She explained. “Also, with us not holding many people at full capacity, especially after Covid I think people found it a safe space to be.”
The charming tearoom is layered with character, with decorations, twinkling lights and paintings dotted around the room and two big leather armchairs situated on either side of the wood burner.
And there is a decking space at the back with further seating for anyone who wants to have a look out over the lake and watch the fisherman get their catch of the day.
During the festive period, the pair run Christmas afternoon tea which includes turkey and stuffing sandwiches, homemade scones, Christmas cake, brownies, mince pies and a Christmas cracker all for £21 per person or £23 for a gluten free version.
As well as their normal afternoon which is on offer throughout the year for £20 per person.
Both Jane and Natalie expressed pride in their unique café. They said: “We enjoy it, its hard work and long hours but we do enjoy it and its nice meeting all the different people and friendly faces.”
Opening hours run from 11am through til 4pm, Thursdays to Sundays. To find out more visit their Facebook page ‘The Red Telephone Box Tearoom’.
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