Train station cafe owners have created a unique community in just six months
They have only been trading for six months but the mother-and-a-son team who run the cafe at Melton Mowbray Railway Station have already created a unique community.
Robbie and Caroline Stephens launched Steam & Bean from a derelict room on Platform One, which previously housed the coffee shop, Don’t Be Latte, until it closed more than three years ago.
The family-run enterprise has already nurtured a loyal customer base and not all of them are passengers and train spotters.
And such has been the impact on the community, the business won the Best Cafe and Coffee Shop category at last month’s Melton BID Business Awards, against strong competition in the town.
The duo got the idea to open the cafe when they travelled to Birmingham on the train and noticed there were no hospitality services for passengers.
Robbie told the Melton Times: “We wanted to build a community here as much as anything and we certainly seem to have one.
"It’s a lovely place to work from.
“I’ve been a train enthusiast all my life and mum likes a good coffee so it seemed like a great idea when we came up with it.”
They are keen to expand activities at the cafe and have applied to the borough council for a Premises Licence to sell alcohol.
The extended opening hours – from Monday to Sunday, 6am to 10pm – would provide them with more flexibility for local groups to use the space when Steam & Bean has closed for the day.
Robbie and Caroline want to open up the premises for meetings such as mental health support groups, art classes and other suitable activities.
Being able to sell alcohol will also be welcomed by some passengers who are catching or getting off trains.
“We sometimes get groups of people asking if we sell alcohol and we had someone getting a train to Stansted Airport at 6.30 in the morning asking if we had a bottle of wine,” explained Robbie, who used to work as a local housing officer for homeless people.
Train enthusiasts are delighted they now have somewhere to get a coffee and a cake while they are on the platforms.
The cafe has a board where upcoming visits by steam trains and classic locos are chalked up – next up, on Friday October 30, is a Britannic Explorer class 66 diesel with a baby blue livery.
Dozens of spectators are often in attendance when a popular train is due to pass through or stop in the town station.
The cafe uses local suppliers for its food offering, including Alez! Bakes at Scalford, Bloomsbury Bakery at Grantham, Knapps Family Butchers of Melton and Poppy-Joyful Treats for sweets.
Winning the coveted Melton business award was a huge boost. Robbie added: “We didn’t expect it all having been only open for five months. We were absolutely over the moon.”
Train lover and regular customer Ken White is full of praise for the business.
He told the Melton Times: “Robbie has been brilliant - he can communicate with people and that really helps. The coffee and the food is excellent.”