A CAFE in Alcester has been named the Best in England.
The Lounge@26 on the High Street was probably first nominated by a customer and it snowballed there, said joint owner Louise Carroll of Headless Cross, Redditch.
“Last November we went to the awards in Birmingham and won best in Warwickshire and the same evening we won Best in the Midlands,” said Louise, the former pastoral head of 6th Form at Arrow Vale School.
The event was organised by the England Business Awards and somewhere along the line she says they were secretly shopped by one of their representatives.
The result? They scooped the big national prize just last month.
“If I’m honest I think it’s because of our customer service,” said Louise, who took over the cafe with her business partner Elizabeth French in the middle of the second lockdown last year.
“As well as the staff being our biggest asset, so are the customers, and you have to look after them and treat them like old friends, which many now are, and bless them, they keep coming back,” said Louise.
It’s not just the customer service that’s key though – a good atmosphere, a welcoming coffee and an array of teas also help, she said.
“Our best selling cake is the carrot cake, closely followed by the coffee and walnut – and we’ve sold out of our home made scones,” she said.
If that wasn’t enough her and Elizabeth have also opened a gin and cocktail bar at Astwood Bank – open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays – while on Fridays The Lounge@26 closes at 4.30pm and re-opens at 5pm also as a gin and cocktail bar.
If that didn’t keep them busy enough, next week Louise is getting married to her fiance Carl Hanks who does pastoral care at Woodfield Middle School.
“I do miss the kids from school but I also enjoy working for myself even if it means working nine days a week!” said Louise.
