It has been six years since Rachael and Tim Brown took over Town Green Garden Cafe at the northwest end of our town centre. Last month, with support from friends and family, they completely ripped it apart and gave it a refresh and new layout.
Now as you enter the cafe you’ll immediately be greeted by the barista at the coffee bar instead of having to navigate around tables to get to the counter. There's a cozy new lounge area at the back and bistro style bench seating where the coffee machine used to be, adding ten extra seats for patrons. Groups of up to 14 can be accommodated at one table, which was impossible before.
I sat down with Rachael to find out more about the background and why they’d closed down for a week while investing so much into the refurbishment.
She explained: “I’ve always been in hospitality, I used to run weddings and events. After years and years working for others I felt it was time to run my own business. We took this cafe on because we could see how much potential it had, and since then I’ve always known the layout wasn’t quite right.”
“We had to shift the counter to the front to make it more welcoming and make it easier to get a takeaway coffee. It makes it so much more welcoming when people see us right as they come through the door. Also, the counter used to take up a third of the floorspace. The new layout means we can accommodate larger parties and private dinners for events like birthdays, anniversaries, Christenings and such.”
The hottest ticket in town of late seems to be the set menu pop up chef evenings which they’ve hosted at Town Green Garden Cafe. “We do a 3-course set menu, all three we have done so far have been sold out just via our mailing list,” Rachael explained. “It’s classical British food. Last time we did a goat’s cheese souffle starter, duck with cherry sauce for main, finishing on a chocolate torte with raspberry sorbet and butterscotch caramel sauce. Speciality wines are paired with the menu. We also had homemade focaccia and a rhubarb kombucha palate cleanser between courses.”
The Guest Chef nights are hosted by Rachael and her college friend Nigel Crane. They recently created Sticky Pudding Events and have hosted many private catered parties. Nigel used to work with the late Richard Hughes at No 24 back in its hey day. Nigel went on to travel around Australia and Europe and now uses his knowledge and creativity to cook great British Cuisine with a twist.
I asked Rachael why she works so hard to make this place special and she didn’t hesitate to answer: “I love the regulars, the characters. I love that they come to visit the same day every week and tell us stories and we have that community feel. Everybody looks out for each other. If you have somebody you haven’t seen for a few days, we’ll see if someone who knows them can Guest Che go knock on their door. We have a family-style friendship within the staff team which is wonderful too.”
The team have increased their opening hours, now open 9-3 most days (closed Weds) and in December they’ll be staying open until 5 to accommodate those doing their Christmas shopping at the lovely independent shops in the town centre. There’s even a special Christmas afternoon tea menu you can pre-book, with a mix of miniature delights and a choice of fizz, mulled wine, Bailey’s hot chocolate, tea or coffee.
Does anything surprise her after six years on the high street? “It surprises me that we still have people come in occasionally and say ‘we didn’t know you were here’, when we’ve been here six years. I’ll ask them where they live, and when they say Wymondham I’m very surprised. There’s so many great businesses in the town, people just need to come and see.”
