A new Watford café has thanked customers after word-of-mouth publicity brought it a brilliant first few weeks.
The Meriden Kitchen opened on May 16 and has attracted lots of loyal local punters despite difficulties of little publicity and parking issues.
Speaking to the Watford Observer, owner Battal Ustek looked back on the first few weeks of business at the location, in York Way, Meriden.
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The Watford resident, who has run local cafés for more than 20 years, said: “No one has been complaining, they like it.
“They love to have a little café in their area and we are very happy. It has been so good so far.”
The 41-year-old explained that he didn’t advertise ahead of the opening but after a customer posted about the business to Facebook on the first day, and people told friends about it, numerous customers came in saying they had heard good things.
He added: “Community people come around and they come every day from care homes, local builders, local families.
“People pop in, then they say they have heard about us and want to try it. Then they come back again.”
The only blemish on the first month has been that people struggle to come from further away. York Way businesses have faced parking woes for a long time, with some fearing closure due to fewer customers as a new car park to replace one that closed for redevelopment work remains shut.
Mr Ustek said: “Because of parking issues, if they don’t live nearby they aren’t going to come this way. They can’t find the parking so it's only people who live in this area.”
After so many customers heard about the business online, Meriden Kitchen has now set up a Facebook page and updated its Google details.
It now holds all five-star reviews on Google from four reviews and has regularly posted updates on a popular Facebook page, including a post returning the “thank you” to customers who sent a thank you letter for the “extremely good service and pleasant manner”, yesterday (June 5).
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