Old Town Cafe due to Reopen after New Owners’ £100K Refurb

An Old Town cafe unit, which has been closed since July, is set to re-open next month, following a £100,000 refurbishment by its new owners.

Graham Rowcliffe, 56, and Liz Baylis, 50, will open Dotty’s Old Town Cafe, at 64 Devizes Road, on 7 September after taking over the lease on the unit last month. The unit was previously home to ‘The Cafe’ which closed earlier this year.

The catering duo started out in the industry a few years ago, taking on a burger van at Buildbase Builders Merchants in Newbury. The van was such a success, they later converted a porta-cabin into a 16-seat cafe. The business was sold in July 2015.

Graham and Liz were famous in Newbury for their breakfasts, exclusive speciality dishes, five-star hygiene rating and TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence.

The five-star couple have spent a staggering £100,000 on refurbishment work; with some of the most expensive costs being an £8,500 high-end coffee machine, a new kitchen, Sonos music system and ceiling.

Graham and Liz want to bring a new breed of cafe to Swindon’s popular Old Town, serving up customers with superb-quality wholesome foods, a delicious range of hot and cold drinks and decent size portions all at a sensible price.

Dotty’s Old Town Cafe will also have a toilet with all-new disabled access and baby changing, allowing them to reach a whole new customer-base.

Graham said: “We’re both really, really excited about our new venture in Swindon. We’ve just moved to Grange Park from Newbury, and Old Town was the ideal location for our cafe.

“We’ve spent so much time and money on the refurbishment in order to help us reach an all new customer-base here. We hope that everyone comes along to our launch to meet us and see what we’ve done with the place.”

On top of the huge refurbishment, Graham and Liz will also be sourcing their food locally, with sausages coming from 39 miles away, bacon 41 miles away and bread just 24 miles away.

Furniture for the cafe will be locally sourced too, as Graham and Liz truly believe in supporting local businesses. The Bees Knees Furniture, run by Joanne Ryan, will be filling the unit with beautiful, unique tables and chairs.

Dotty’s Old Town Cafe hold an open day on 7 September, inviting the public come and sample what’s on offer. The cafe will official open for business on 8 September at 8am.