Chef Interview: The secrets behind 33 years of success

Cedar cafe, just off the A1 has been proudly run by Keith and Angela since 1992. We recently had the pleasure of sitting down with them to talk about the secrets of their long-running success. They shared stories about their famous dugoot, their approach to choosing suppliers and with a heavy heart, revealed that after 33 wonderful years they are considering passing the business onto new hands.

Tell us a little about Cedar Café.

Cedar Café dates back to pre ’66. It was quite humble beginnings then because it was just a milk bar, so you were served out a hatch. It went from hand to hand and then in 1992 Keith’s dad bought Cedar café for him. It had laid empty for a while. It was in a hell of a mess when we took it over. We were in with the jet wash, blasting the grease of the place. Oh, it was disgusting! Ange joined the business in 2001, we’ve never looked back, have we? In recent years it’s become very busy, it’s actually hard to keep up.

What do you think has made the café so successful for so many years?

We are just different from the rest. We cook everything to order, no hot hold. I am sick of going into places and they’ve all cooked the bacon the morning or the day before. You don’t even really need to wait any longer here to get it fresh and homemade. Also we are all day for everything. You can have any food any time.

How did the idea for the dugoot come around?

The dugoot is exclusively for customers with dogs. I got the idea because I was sick of going into places and there was dogs around, sitting in the seat next to me. It’s not nice for the dogs, they are on the lead and then need to move all the time. There are also people that are afraid of dogs and that are allergic. No one loves dogs more than Ange but there is a place for them. The dugout gives them that space. It’s well received, we actually wish we made it bigger.

How do you pick suppliers? It’s all about the people. With certain suppliers you get a different rep or telesaler every day, they don’t even know my name. It’s difficult, they don’t know what I usually get. With JB it’s more personal, I’ve been using yous since I started in 1992. There is always someone I know at JB, we have a relationship.

What do you see as the future of Cedar Café?

Now we’re feeling it’s time to go. Hanging up the towel. It’s hard, we are twice as busy and I am twice as old. I still like doing the job, seeing my regular customers and having banter with them. Those are the good days. But see some days you are at the griddle, every pegs is full and you look at the camera and the queue is right to the door. Sometimes it’s horrible because it’s that busy. Although I tried to retire in April, see how well that’s working!