THE new owner of a family-run café is celebrating the business's success on the first anniversary of her taking charge.

Delamere Station House has been a family-run business for over 35 years, and is currently being run by Claire Darlington.

Her father bought the building at Delamere railway station in a derelict state, before gradually building it up over the years to be a successful café.

But Claire has been able to take this to the next level by changing its ethos from a greasy spoon café to a healthy food outlet.

“The café really has gone from strength so strength over the last 12 months since we started to offer more healthier options and vegan choices,” she said.

“My dad bought the building in a derelict state and built it up over time, but he is now at an age where he when wants to start winding down.

“I was delighted when he asked me to run it, and as I have been a personal trainer in Delamere for 20 years, it is a great opportunity to introduce a healthier menu.

“We still offer the meals you would expect from a café, but vegan and generally healthier organic food is very popular now and this view has been echoed by our customers.”

Northwich Guardian:

Claire Darlington is celebrating the end of her first year in charge

As well as offering new food choices, the café regularly updates its specials board and is trialling fish and chip, curry, Mexican and Thai themed evenings.

Claire has also obtained an alcohol license for the café, meaning that they can now organise events for customers to enjoy during the evening and weekends.

“We are currently building our events calendar for 2020, where we hope to have motivation speakers, comedy nights, live music, quizzes and craft workshops,” she added.

“Regular customers seemed to be a bit reluctant to the changes at first, but everyone looks to have embraced it now.

“Our goal is to attract a new audience and make the café something of a community hub.

“The place has a cleaner and happier feel to it since we changed the menu and had a refurb, and we hope that things continue to head in the right direction in the next 12 months.”