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Café Alf Resco Dartmouth. Kate & Pete Ryder
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Café Alf Resco Dartmouth
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Café Alf Resco Dartmouth
Café Alf Resco’s 20th Anniversary
Kate and Peter Ryder sit at one of the tables in Café Alf Resco’s and reminisce over the last two decades – it sounds as if it’s been a fun ride.
“We didn’t start the place,” said Peter, “Ted and Lesley Brazier did in April 1994. Kate and I had a home here and both started helping them out most weekends. Their philosophy was not to ‘pitch’ the café at a certain type of person – they simply created a place they would enjoy eating and drinking in.
“It took them two years to create the café – as they found things to display and decorate the place with – they didn’t want to hurry as they were creating their dream. This is the reason it has been so popular – it has its own mood and charm and we got involved because we loved it. The simple but great food, no microwaves, only local sourcing - it was just superb.”
“Money was never their driving force, and it isn’t for us either,” said Kate. “The community is at the heart of everything we do because that’s what we love about Dartmouth! The idea behind Alf’s is, all are welcome – and we’ve remained true to that.”
Peter and Kate met in Buckinghamshire in 1990 and by 1991 had a house in Dartmouth. After it opened in 1994, Alf’s became more than just a place to eat and drink – they were helping out.
“Ted and Lesley were taken aback by how popular it was,” said Kate, “and they were happy to let us help out. We’d fallen in love with the town and the community spirit around Alf’s. There truly is a cross section of the whole of Dartmouth in Alf’s, everyone has to share tables and is on first name terms – it’s a great leveler and means we all get on. Peter and I still love it.”
Peter worked for an antiques business in Buckinghamshire but decided to have a life change after 18 years and renovate our old house in Dartmouth. “I then started working regularly at Alf’s. After three years Ted and Lesley were looking for another adventure and offered us the chance to take it on in 1997. We jumped at the chance.”
Kate and Peter took on the role of custodians with the help of Piers, Nick, Ben, Leanne, Jodie and the many other staff members past and present. Everyone involved has had Ted and Lesley’s original vision – since then little has changed apart from longer opening hours and the addition of some Bed and Breakfast rooms above the café. The formula clearly works - they have won countless national awards for their service, breakfasts and other foods. With the endorsement of the Independent, Sunday Times and others, the café has gone from strength to strength.
“We kept things exactly the same, just tweaking things along the way,” Kate said. “Ted and Lesley had created the perfect template and we don’t think anything needed to change! They wanted to support and be part of the community and we have been true to that - from using local suppliers, staff and tradesmen to supporting local charities and town events.”
The café has certainly gained a reputation for supporting the community – it holds regular fundraisers for charitable organizations and events, such as the Swimming Pool, Dartmouth Hospital League of Friends, the Food Festival, Music Festival, Rotary Club, the RNLI, the Flavel, the Museum, Rowcroft Hospice and events for the town’s young Ten Tors teams and Alf’s own Regatta Rowing teams.
“The community here is everything, and we are proud to support all of these causes,” said Peter. “We also try hard to employ local people – often youngsters in their first job. The Café can be an intense place to work when it’s busy and there’s nowhere to hide! We see young people come to us and grow up before our eyes – you have to talk to the public, multi-task, learn new skills and learn to work in a team. The skills they learn here they take through the rest of their lives. Two of our team met at Alf’s, fell in love and now have two children!
“So many great local people have worked here and many of them return time and again. They have all been fantastic and have helped make Alf’s the continuing success it is,” said Kate. “We’re looking forward to the next 20 years!”
Kate and her team are planning to undertake 20 fundraising challenges from April 2014 to April 2015 to mark the 20th Anniversary of Alf’s.
Members of the team will be undertaking the Rowcroft Sleepwalk, a 100km night bike ride, the Commando Challenge and many other events. For more details pop into the café or check out their website: www.cafealfresco.co.uk or Facebook page www.facebook.com/CafeAlfRescoDartmouth