A TOWN centre café owner is backing the Barry & District News’ High Street: Use It Or Lose It campaign.

Marc Cheshire, who owns Caesars, in Holton Road, Barry, said he had a number of ideas which would entice customers into the area and boost trade for the small independent businesses that exist in the area.

His father, Wayne Cheshire, 54, had been operating business in Blackwood when an Asda set up around the corner and he had to think of something else to do.

Marc, 30, had thought about establishing a café in Cardiff, but on seeing Barry decided that it was the perfect venue to set up the business – a business which has been in existence for eight years.

It also recently established itself as Barry’s first commercial dementia-friendly café.

The café can seat 46 people inside, and 14 outside and entices customers with a range of homemade food not available in major chains.

He said: “When Costa came it didn’t affect us. It’s made us busier. People come down to the town and we’re different from other places. We’ve got a few regular customers and we know what they want before they order. We are just different – you don’t want to try the same thing all the time every single day. We really care.”

Mr Cheshire said he thought one idea that would attract people to the town centre would be a Jumbotron – a public big screen television situated, opposite, on King Square.

Residents, he believed, would be attracted to the town where they could shop and dine and share a social experience – viewing televised sporting matches – with a neighbouring crowd.

Caesars is open from 8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.

The Your High Street: Use It Or Lose It aims to raise awareness of the independent high street businesses who are suffering from falling customer numbers – in High Street, Holton Road, Park Crescent, Main Street and Vere Street.

Your High Street: Use It Or Lose It is an ongoing campaign. Politicians, traders, interest groups, and the public is invited to express an opinion.