ALF RESCO’S IS 20!
peter and Kate met in Buckinghamshire in 1990 and by 1991 had a house in Dartmouth. After it opened in 1994, Alf’s became more than just a place to eat and drink – they were helping out. “Ted and lesley were taken aback by how popular it
was,” said Kate, “and they were happy to let us help out. We’d fallen in love with the town and the community spirit around Alf’s. There truly is a cross section of the whole of Dartmouth in Alf’s, everyone has to share tables and is on first name terms – it’s a great leveler and means we all get on. peter and I still love it.” peter worked for an antiques business in Buckinghamshire but decided to have a life change after 18 years and renovate our old house in Dartmouth. “I then started working regularly at Alf’s. After three years Ted and lesley were looking for another adventure and offered us the chance to take it on in 1997. We jumped at the chance.” Kate and peter took on the role of custo- dians with the help of piers, nick, Ben, leanne, Jodie and the many other staff members past and present. everyone involved has had Ted and lesley’s original vision – since then little has changed apart from longer opening hours and the addition of some Bed and Breakfast rooms above the café. The formula clearly works - they have won countless national awards for their service, breakfasts and other foods. With the endorsement of the Independent, sunday Times and others, the café has gone from strength to strength. “We kept things exactly the same, just tweaking things along the way,” Kate said. “Ted and lesley had created the perfect template and we don’t think anything needed to change! They wanted to support and be part of the com-
“ The
idea behind Alf’s is, all are welcome – and we’ve remained true to that.”
munity and we have been true to that - from using local suppliers, staff and tradesmen to supporting local charities and town events.” The café has certainly gained a reputation for supporting the community – it holds regular fundraisers for charitable organizations and events, such as the swimming pool, Dart- mouth Hospital league of Friends, the Food Festival, Music Festival, Rotary Club, the RnlI, the Flavel, the Museum, Rowcroft Hospice and events for the town’s young Ten Tors teams and Alf’s own Regatta Rowing teams. “The community here is everything, and we are proud to support all of these causes,” said peter. “We also try hard to employ local people – often youngsters in their first job. The Café can be an intense place to work when it’s busy and there’s nowhere to hide! We see young people come to us and grow up before our eyes – you have to talk to the public,
multi-task, learn new skills and learn to work in a team. The skills they learn here they take through the rest of their lives. Two of our team met at Alf’s, fell in love and now have two children!
“so many great local people have worked here and many of them return time and again. They have all been fantastic and have helped make Alf’s the continuing success it is,” said Kate. “We’re looking forward to the next 20 years!” Kate and her team are planning to undertake 20 fundrais- ing challenges from April 2014 to April 2015 to mark the 20th Anniversary of Alf’s.
Members of the team will be undertaking the Rowcroft
sleepwalk, a 100km night bike ride, the Commando Chal- lenge and many other events. For more details pop into the café or check out their website:
www.cafealfresco.co.uk or Facebook page
www.facebook.com/CafeAlfRescoDartmouth
35
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132