“Here we are. Two weeks in. Non-stop. It has been more than my wildest dreams.
“The customers are amazing. It’s been bustling since 9 o’clock this morning. I am grateful. It’s nice to open that door and just think, ‘wow, I’ve created this’.”
Whenever I arrange to interview someone, I ask the person to pick the perfect time so we can have ten minutes of uninterrupted chat. Today I popped into the ‘New Millington’s’ cafe in town.
It closed a few months ago when the previous lease was running out and the owner decided not to renew. Luckily for the popular cafe’s loyal customers, one of the previous members of staff decided to start her very first business at the age of 61.
Warm welcome
Dawn Button gave me a warm welcome (and a lovely latte) when I arrived at around 3.10pm. One member of staff was putting her coat on to leave, and Dawn and the others were doing their end-of-day jobs. One customer was sitting in the corner, enjoying a hot drink.
It was calm and peaceful, perfect for an interview, but Dawn wasn’t so sure about having her photo taken at the end of another busy shift.
Straight off, she thanked her family and friends for their hard work in completely refurbishing the shop upstairs in The Parade.
“I couldn’t have done it without my family or my fella”, she said, “He’s a carpenter, so he’s been roped into lots. My brother is a builder, my friend’s husband is an electrician. Absolutely phenomenal. I couldn’t wish for anything better. I can’t fault them.”
Her cooking career started as an apprentice chef in 1981 at the staff canteen in the nearby Lucas Girling factory.
She said: “My mum was a good cook, my sister is a good cook, my sister in law’s a chef.
“We’re a foodie family. It’s my dream [to own a cafe]. I’ve been in food all my life, and I’ve got it how I want it now. It’s lovely.”
‘Amazing’ staff
She employs three members of staff and describes them as “amazing.”
“We’ve got all the decor but the core is the girls. That’s what makes the cafe, not the decor.
“The customers love the staff.
“It’s like a hub. One gentleman from Cardiff comes to see us about twice a week. He calls this home and says, ‘it’s better than home’.
“We interact a lot. We don’t just take your money and feed you. We talk to them all. I love it when it’s bustling. We’re really lucky with the customers we’ve got. They’re phenomenal.”
The “Croesy girl” has just taken the dozens of cards from well-wishers down, adding: “We’ve had flowers, chocolates. We’ve had everything. They were queuing at the door on Tuesday [14 October- the day she reopened the cafe]. The customers are over the moon.
“One lady came and she went, ‘I know when it’s full, I can go and eat in the toilet, because that’s how nice your toilet is. Well, it made me laugh. I said, ‘ok, well that’s a compliment to me’, but it made me laugh.
‘I’ll be 70 doing this’
“I’ll be 70 doing this. I don’t care. I really enjoy working with food. Ask any of my friends,
“I’m a foodie person. I like to feed people, not just slap it on the plate; it’s presentation that’s most important. How you display cakes and how you show things. It’s everything.”
Her menu covers a range of food, including breakfasts, toasties, homemade soup, paninis, and omelettes. There’s also a children’s menu, and they cater for gluten-free customers.
She thanked M Cwmbran, the town’s owners, for their support in opening the business.
And she thanked Torfaen Council’s Food4Growth team for their help and a grant.
The cafe’s outdoor seats are popular for “people watching”. As you tuck into your food and drink, you can watch the world go by, peering at the dozens of passers-by below.
As we chatted, Dawn returned to talking about her customers and the extra effort her staff go to make people welcome – including adapting any menu items where possible.
Eye contact
She said: “You can go into so many places and they ask what you want and they don’t even give you eye contact. And then they walk away, and that’s the last time you’ll have eye contact with them. Whereas we have a little chat, we interact with them.
“I care about that. We do care, that’s the thing.”