A new cafe aims to be the ‘heart of the community’ in a picturesque Isle of Wight village and has already hit the ground running!
Found at the former Brighstone Newsagents and Coffee Shop, which closed earlier this year, Calon Cafe & Bistro is the latest addition for the village.
Kizzie Lloyd, from Freshwater, realised her dream of opening a cafe on July 15 after deciding it was time for a change.
Having worked in the hospitality and care industries most of her life, Kizzie is the proud owner of the popular Freshwater holiday rental The CWTCH (meaning cuddle in Welsh).
Originating from her time living in Wales and her husband Adrian being Welsh, the theme continued with the naming of her new venture, with Calon meaning heart.
Kizzie told the County Press that the idea for a cafe came about after Adrian saw that the old Main Road newsagents was vacant and asked her if she wanted to see it.
She said: “I always wanted my own place, but my friends thought I would open a cocktail bar!
“I have always enjoyed making people happy and providing a good service, so I wanted to make something where everyone is welcome to come.”
The Calon Cafe & Bistro building has much character, including the thatched roof and exposed stonework internally, with the addition of artwork by Island pen and ink illustrator Katy Rose.
Among the cafe’s offerings are freshly baked goods and weekly specials, which recently included items such as slow-roast brisket stack and summer crudites platter.
Ahead of the grand opening, Kizzie held a meet-and-greet open day with the locals and has since been enjoying getting to know everyone.
Kizzie said: “You see lots of faces, and you get used to seeing them, and then you see even more faces, and you realise Brighstone is much bigger than you realise!”
Receiving a five-star hygiene rating last Friday (July 26), after a visit from Environmental Health, the cafe went on to host its first ‘bistro evening’, offering tapas, which Kizzie said was a ‘great success’, selling out within 24 hours and seeing the venue filled with customers.
The next bistro evening is Saturday, August 10, with a Mexican theme. Kizzie hopes to offer the special bistro evenings every couple of weeks.
The cafe is open 8am – 4pm on Tuesdays to Saturdays, 9.30am – 3pm on Sundays and closed on Mondays.
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