While the doors are shut due to coronavirus, lockdown has opened up opportunities for the owners of Kenny’s Kafe where business is booming.
Kenny’s Kafe in Hellesdon, near Norwich, reopened in January under new ownership with Joel Metcalf, 24, and chef Justin Ross, 34, at the helm, serving breakfasts and hearty lunches.
The pair also run roast dinner delivery service OffSeasons Norwich, which launched in September 2019, and they moved from their kitchen unit in Sprowston to the new premises for the two ventures to run side-by-side.
After being open less than three months, they temporarily closed the cafe in March due to the pandemic and soon realised they would need to think on their feet to stay afloat.
To begin with, they upped their roast delivery to two days a week, with Thursday as well as Sunday, which saw a huge surge in orders with restaurants shut.
READ MORE: 5 places delivering roast dinners in Norwich during lockdown
In April, they decided to sign up to Just Eat and reopened Kenny’s Kafe as a takeaway, while going back to just Sundays on the roasts, with cooked breakfasts, sandwiches and lunches, such as jacket potatoes and burgers, available for delivery or contactless collection.
Mr Metcalf, who lives in Thorpe St Andrew, said: “It was frustrating to have to shut, especially after only a few months, but at the same time everyone is in the same boat and adapting quickly was important.
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“We had been doing local deliveries before lockdown but going with Just Eat was a huge benefit in moving things forward and we have had more orders than ever.”
The cafe is located in Concorde Road in the industrial estate so previously the bulk of customers worked in the nearby businesses, but they are hoping this will bring in people from further afield.
Mr Metcalf added: “We didn’t want to shut completely and be at the back of people’s minds and this is a brilliant opportunity for people to find out about us through the delivery side.”
Kenny’s Kafe is open Tuesday to Friday 8am to 12.30pm and Saturdays 8am to 3pm and you can order on Just Eat.
Roasts dinners can be ordered direct on the ‘OffSeasons Norwich’ Facebook page.
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