A CAFE owner is celebrating five years in business and puts the survival of the business down to its entirely gluten-free menu.
Karen Tyas has had a severe wheat intolerance for 12 years - an era when very little gluten free produce was on the market.
So when she decided to open Cafe Creme in High Street, Penistone, it was a natural step to make the entire menu gluten free.
More recently she has developed a dairy intolerance and now has devised a menu of cakes which are also dairy free.
Capturing a niche in the market has helped to ensure the business has built up a loyal following with customers travelling from well beyond Penistone.
But that is not at the expense of customers wanting ‘normal’ food, because the gluten and diary free alternatives are little different in taste and texture to their mainstream alternatives.
“Honestly, if we had not had that part of our business, we would not still be here. It is hard work,” she said.
“We get people coming from outside Penistone and there are still people who don’t know what we do.
“Everyone can enjoy the cakes we sell, it just means it is available to everyone.
“We have regulars who come from Wakefield, Rotherham and Huddersfield because of what we do.”
The business has always made a point of supporting local traders, including the Springvale Community Garden which supplies fruit and vegetables as they are available.
The cafe supports five members of staff as well as Saturday part timers and a party has been organised for Thursday evening to celebrate.
That runs from 7pm and is by ticket only, but will feature the cafe’s coffee supplier giving demonstrations on how to brew successfully and the cafe’s produce will also be available for tasting.
