Owned by Carl Pottinger and Sally Roberts, Pontcysyllte Tea Rooms is a traditional tea room, located in the renovated Bryn Seion chapel in Trevor, North Wales.
Set beside the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, the town’s UNESCO World Heritage Site, the tea rooms opened in February 2018 and offer a daytime menu including freshly brewed coffee, a selection of teas, cakes, afternoon teas and light snacks.
What they did
“I’ve had the idea to open a café in the chapel for many years. The building was unused and becoming more and more derelict. At that time, although the visitor numbers to the world heritage area were increasing, there was nowhere for tourists to go once they had walked over the Aqueduct. The chapel had been for sale for about 8 years with a large price tag and I thought I would have to sell lots of cups of tea to make it pay! So, the idea lay dormant until December 2015 when Carl and I decided to buy it at a reduced price. After a lengthy renovation, which ran over schedule, and many highs and lows, we finally opened the doors to the public in February 2018.”
What would they do differently?
We have been really pleased with the sales so far. We are currently trading between 10am to 5pm daily, but are looking to open in the evenings soon, too. We have had several private functions that have been held in the evening and feedback has been fantastic.
Their proudest moment in business
I feel very proud every time we have a large function, seeing the building full and everyone enjoying themselves appreciating the architecture, food and service.
Do they use Welsh in their business? If so, how has this helped them
“We have tried our very best to keep the Welsh chapel theme, have a 'Welsh piano', and sell lots of homemade Bara Brith. We also aim to use Welsh produce from local suppliers, whenever possible.”
Describe the type of support (financial / non-financial) they’ve received from Business Wales / Welsh Government
Business Wales Adviser Matthew Woodhead helped Sally and Carl with general business advice, including assistance with developing a business plan and financial forecasts. This enabled them to secure a £30,000 tourism grant to convert the former chapel into a tea room, and successfully launch the business in February 2018.
Additionally, HR adviser Lowri Dundee reviewed, amended and implemented contracts of employment, staff handbooks and policy documents to ensure that staff are employed in accordance with legal requirements and legislation, minimising the business’s exposure to potential claims and related financial implications.
Sally commented: “My first experience with Business Wales started with a recommendation from Wrexham Library. I attended several workshops on starting a new business and then was allocated my own adviser, Matthew Woodhead. He proved invaluable helping us obtain our tourism grant from Finance Wales and introducing us to other advisers who assisted with HR matters, Health and Safety, marketing and much more. As we are now up and running, I will be exploring further available support with my digital marketing skills.”
Top Tips
Here are Pontcysyllte Tea Rooms’ top tips for anyone else looking to start or grow their own business:
- make use of all the support available to business start-ups
- do not give up when faced with hurdles!
- network with local people – we have found relationships with local food and tourism groups really useful