A young family who recently took over a Kesgrave cafe are looking to the future as work begins to revitalise the eatery.
The Sciortino family took over Kesgrave Kitchen in Main Road at the beginning of the year, with the hopes of transforming the popular breakfast bar into a cafe for the local community to enjoy.
Husband and wife duo Chris and Emma had run the cafe for just over eight weeks before the coronavirus forced its door closed – but now owner Chris is keen to turn a negative into a positive and give the town something to look forward to.
Plans include making the cafe into a spacious, open plan dining area, while making the garden a place for children to enjoy and moving the outdoor toilets inside.
The work is being completed by newfound company ALC Construction after owner Adam Closs moved back to Suffolk from New Zealand shortly before the coronavirus lockdown.
Mr Sciortino said: “We’re knocking the interior walls down to make a big open plan room, and will be making more use of the garden as it really is such a nice space.
“We were hoping to host a big event in the summer to bring the community together, but unfortunately because of coronavirus things haven’t gone to plan.
“Hopefully everything will be completed by September, although we’d like to open as soon as we possibly can and start serving our customers again.”
Mr Sciortino admitted it has been a bizarre beginning to the restaurant trade because of the virus.
He said: “There were some obstacles to pass at the beginning but we really have enjoyed it - it is just brilliant.
“The kids love coming in and it has been so nice to get to know the regular customers, I miss them being able to come in for a chat.
“I’m itching to do something again but I’m really excited for the future and to see it all come to light.”
The cafe was originally founded in 1937 as Tom’s Cafe, before it was renamed as it is today.
It was bought out by Paul Driver in 1978, who ran the business with his brother Peter and wife Carol and eventually put it up for sale in 2018.
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