The owner of Castle Beach Café Fiona Crump has announced she will be moving on to new adventures in her last season at the popular seafront café.

Announced yesterday afternoon, Fiona said she will be handing over the café to someone with "younger bones" in Emily Davidson, who has worked alongside Fiona for three seasons.

Catching up with Fiona yesterday, she said she has had an "absolute blast" running the café but wanted to get a different pace of life and spend some time with her grandchildren.

Fiona Crump took over the cafe from Janet and Johnathan Fine in 2019, and has been a popular friendly figure ever since, even leading the charge for free school meals during half term.

Speaking to Nub News, Fiona said the highlight of her time at the café has been the phenomenal warmth and support of the customers.

Fiona continued:

"This year particularly I have been hearing about what a nightmare hospitality businesses have been having, it has been challenging with stock, and covid, but generally people here have been so very lovely.

"I feel very privileged to have spent time with them (the customers) over the last three years.

"I just want to say a million thankyous, the support that I have had for the business, the support for any other ideas I have had, I just have a real sense of belonging and I will be sad to lose that. I have met some really lovely people and I am going to miss a lot of them."

"It is also the best view of any office I have worked in," Fiona added.

Moving onto her next adventure, Fiona is planning to start a new business developing a range of vegan and vegetarian meals, that will be sold through delis, farm shops, and pubs.

Taking over the lease of the café will be Emily Davidson, 26, who is excited to get started and put her own twist on things.

Emily has spent three seasons working under Fiona teaching her everything she knows, and that valuable experience will make for a smooth transition.

Emily told Nub News:

"It is going to be very much the same café as people know and love, but I would like to add some things to it, I would like to extend the opening hours in the summer, I would like to be a bit earlier with the breakfast menu, and there could be an extension of the seating."

Emily has been working alongside Fiona for the last three seasons and was full of praise as she is set to bid farewell at the end of October.

Emily continued:

"Fiona has been brilliant in guiding me through it all and I am sure I will have her support in the future, we are going to miss her, and the customers are going to miss her."

The cafe will close for the winter at the end of October, but Emily soon turns her attention to a reopening next year.

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