Safety is key as Vale of Belvoir cafe re-opens

Cafe Allez! owners Claire Fretwell and Mark Trevarthen.

Mark Trevarthen and his partner Claire Fretwell have spent weeks devising a new look for Cafe Allez!, located in the visitor car park at Belvoir Castle, after it closed at the beginning of the lockdown.

Now the cafe has re-opened offering a safe takeaway service with a screen and queueing system, contactless payments plus an online ordering service.

Mr Trevarthen said: “It has definitely been a tough few weeks.

“The hardest part was the decision to close in the first place.

“Legally we could have carried on trading throughout as takeaways have always been permitted, but we felt that was wrong for us when the ‘stay at home’ message was so strong.

“Beautiful as it is, any trip to Belvoir is probably an ‘unnecessary journey’ unless you’re the Duke or the Duchess.”

He said: “We designed the screen and queueing system ourselves but then partnered with Digital Deadline in Melton to make it a reality and they always bring some nice design touches.

“We had been talking about an online system for sometime but didn’t think it’d catch on.

“Now it’s massively welcomed by those who want to stay even safer when ordering and we’ll definitely keep it because it’s so convenient and easy for customers.

“We built it in about two days and the feedback and take-up has been great with about one in five orders are now online.

The cafe’s outside seating has been removed.

Mr Trevarthen said: “We hope the restrictions will be eased in July. Meantime, the lawned area next to us is often used for picnicking and we can’t really stop anybody who chooses to supplement that with a coffee or ice cream from us.

The cafe opened last year after the couple had successfully run their premium mobile coffee shop in a vintage Citroen HY van named Van Henri, and which they planned to keep as a central part of the business.

Mr Trevarthen said: “All the spring and summer events for Van Henri were cancelled within a week, some have been rescheduled in September and beyond, so fingers crossed we can salvage something of the season.

You can find Cafe Allez!’s menu and place your order at www.cafeallez.uk

This season, the cafe opens day, except Wednesdays, from 10am to 4pm on weekdays and 9am to 5pm at the weekends.