A CAFÉ has opened near a popular Yate park.

The Vintage Birdcage Cakery opened on Saturday (January 30), in the old stable block of Stanshawes Court Hotel adjacent to Kingsgate Park.

More than 200 people visited the café, kitchens and soon-to-be baking school during its first day delighting its owners, local entrepreneurs and cake-makers Nicole Jones and Suzanne Jenkinson.

Nicole, a mother-of-two who first started making bespoke cakes to order from her home five years ago, said: “Things progressed and the business moved to a lovely farm kitchen in Perrinpit Road, Frampton Cotterell where Suzanne joined me 18 months ago.

“We had outgrown the place within three or four months after tendering to provide cake to pubs in the area and winning them.”

Nicole’s husband and a friend took the plunge and bought Grooms House, the former stable block to Stanshawes Court and have set about renovating the rooms into a café fit for a tempting array of cakes, tiffins and brownies.

As well as a café, the businesswomen are in discussions with Yate Town Council to provide an access gate from Kingsgate Park direct to the premises. They are also in discussions with councillors over plans to open a kiosk in the park.

The duo have other plans to expand their business – as well as continuing to run the café and making cakes to order, they intend to launch baking classes for adults and children and work with local schools and nurseries to provide fun cake and food hygiene classes.

Thornbury and Yate MP Luke Hall, who officially opened the café on Saturday, said: “I think this will be a wonderful addition to the local area and it really is offering something different to local people.

“Small businesses are the centre of our local economy am I am confident about the future of Vintage Birdcage Cakery.”

The café is open from 10am to 3pm Monday to Saturday with plans to open on Sundays from the spring.