HAVE you heard the one about the man who walked into a cafe for a bacon baguette and came out with the cafe?

That’s what happened when Alex Davies fancied a bite to eat and ended up as the new owner of Coffee Cove on a visit to Barry Island’s resort , after previous catering business-owning opportunities in Cardiff were left fruitless.

Now, the dad-of-one has opened the seafront view window up on his business and is urging customers old and new to join him as he opens all through the year.

Alex, 32, said Coffee Cove and wine bar, on Friars Road, was the first business he had owned.

He said: “I came in to buy a bacon baguette – it was very nice. I’d been looking at a couple of places in Cardiff. It was a Monday morning, ordered my baguette and I got chatting to Peter (the owner). Peter said the place was still on the market and he was looking to sell and I thought it was a good opportunity.

“It felt like serendipity – like it was fated. At the time I was umming and arghing about a cafe that would have cost me three times as much and has gone already.”

Alex still plays host to customer favourites – the Barry Hookers on a Wednesday, supported individuals and walking groups with dogs also welcome with a special treat as part of the dog-customer care.

And the bar features acoustic open mic nights, comedy nights, and live musicians who want to play with no venue charge for private parties and homemade chilli con carne, soups and stews on the menu.

Alex has also already had a tenuous celebrity encounter with Doctor Who having been filmed at Barry Island during the summer, and a runner came in to order some coffees.

He said: “They said ‘can you write the names on the cup? That one’s for Peter. That one’s Jenna’s’. I made the coffee for Doctor Who.”

Alex added: “It’s nice there’s a vision to drive Barry back to its former glory. It’s nice to see businesses pull together and attract people. As far as I’m concerned shutters open are better than shutters closed. People need to know that we are open and people will stop coming if they don’t know we are going to be open. The only thing you can be certain of is, you won’t make any money if you are closed.”

Coffee Cove is open from 10am to 6pm and later for events.

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