A cafe owner who sold up last year for an easier life missed it so much she's set up shop again. Mrs B's is back in town but in a different location.
Mrs B's was in Long Eaton's High Street, serving breakfasts, hot lunches, cakes and snacks for seven years. The business was sold in April 2022 and the new operators renamed it A-one Cafe and Kitchen.
However, it wasn't long before Mrs B, aka Sara Burton, got a job serving customers for 10 months at takeaway Deli-licious on the outskirts of the town centre. But now she's decided to branch out on her own once again to open Mrs B's in Derby Road, near the College Street junction.
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The premises, which used to be burger joint, It's Not a Cafe, has been given a makeover to extend the kitchen area and brighten the decor, creating a cosy cafe feel.
"I thought I'd done," said Sara, whose original plan had been to run Mrs B's for five years. "I think it's the drive and working for yourself and people enjoying your food.
"I'm not a chef. I'm just cook homemade things. I've never been trained, I just enjoy cooking. We are quite boring eaters, that's why it's just a simple menu," added Sara, who before running a cafe, was a deputy manager at Farmfoods and Aldi, and worked at DHL on a Marks & Spencer contract. It was there she met her husband Richard, who was her boss.
Now the roles have been reversed, with Richard helping out in the cafe. The menu is similar but smaller than the first Mrs B's. There's still breakfasts, omelettes, jacket potatoes, chilli and pies, with homemade chips.
Brownies, millionaire's shortbread, tiffin and Victoria sponge are homemade, as are the crumbles with apple or rhubarb. Paninis, toasties and cobs are also on the menu.
The cafe, which has seating for eight inside and six on the pavement, is smaller than previously and there's more cars than pedestrians at that location but Sara is confident it will take off, with delivery as popular as people stopping by in person. Helping Long Eaton born-and-bred Sara behind the counter is her sister Sharon, niece Emma and her friend Rachel.
Sara, who ran a bar in Tenerife 19 years ago, said: "When I sold the other cafe, I didn't know what I was going to do. I don't know if I was going to do something different, to go back into factory work. I just wanted a clock in, clock out job so you didn't have any responsibility.
"I didn't think I'd do this again but then this one came along. It's nice to be back. A lot of people are asking 'are you the Mrs B's from down town?' It's a bit weird, I suppose they didn't think I'd start up again but you just can't get it out of you. My plan is only three years because you can't keep going, it's really hard work."
