A cafe owner is back on track after overcoming the nightmare of being made redundant.<\/p>\n
Dorothy Crimes, 63, has launched a new bistro, Dot2Dot, on Platform 1 at Wrexham General Station.<\/p>\n
It was officially opened by Wrexham AM Lesley Griffiths who was joined by a host of Dot’s loyal customers at the celebration.<\/p>\n
Although the bistro is based at the station, it is also open to non train users.<\/p>\n
Dot joined Wrexham and Shropshire Railway in 2008 as a Senior Steward and was then promoted to Catering Supervisor.<\/p>\n
She ran the small platform cafe and was responsible for keeping the trains stocked with food and drink.<\/p>\n
But everything came to a crashing halt in February last year when Wrexham and Shropshire Railway made Dot and more than 50 other people redundant.<\/p>\n
A year after taking over the lease on the cafe herself, Dot has now moved into bigger premises.<\/p>\n
She recalled: “Being made redundant was horrendous for all of us, there were 56 of us in the company.<\/p>\n
“We were told on the Tuesday night that we were being made redundant and that we were finishing on the Friday.<\/p>\n
“When I got my redundancy, I asked about taking on the cafe – there were about 10 people who wanted it but I was lucky enough to get chosen.\u00a0 I reopened the cafe in March last year.<\/p>\n
“I\u00a0have always wanted to extend into the bigger premises and it’s taken a year to get the leases sorted. The room we’re in now used to be my stock room.<\/p>\n
“We’re going to carry on with the opening hours from 6am to 5pm and on a Saturday, from 8am until 3pm – and we’re going to look into extending the hours.<\/p>\n
“We’re also going to be branching out to do children’s parties, we’re available for meetings and we’ll open up of an evening – anything and everything.<\/p>\n
“We do a full range of meals and we’re launching our new range of gourmet burgers, they’re the big\u00a0burgers with all the different fillings.<\/p>\n
“You don’t have to be catching a train to come here – we’ve now got a second door direct to the car park so you don’t have to come through the station.<\/p>\n
“This is very exciting and I wouldn’t have done it without the fantastic support I’ve had from the family.<\/p>\n
“Steve my husband has been one of my biggest supporters and because he’s an accountant he’s been able to give me lots of practical advice.<\/p>\n
“We have five members of staff and they have been brilliant – they’ve all been with me since October last year.<\/p>\n
“They’re here, they’re trained and they’re a cracking team. We’re also lucky that we have a lot of regular customers who are great.”<\/p>\n
Among the regular customers is local AM Lesley Griffiths who was delighted to officially open the new bistro.<\/p>\n
She said: “I opened the original cafe three years ago and then Dot went on her own and she’s done a fantastic job. Everybody talks about Dot2Dot.<\/p>\n
“It’s great that she’s been able to expand and I am sure she will go from strength to strength.<\/p>\n
“Dot and her family have worked really hard to get this place ready. I always call in for my cup of tea and bacon sandwich or sausage roll when I’m on my way\u00a0 to Cardiff.<\/p>\n
“It’s great to have this facility because it is an important service. It’s not just for train users – I often come here during the day and people pop in for a coffee before going into town to do their shopping.<\/p>\n
“She’s extremely popular, she’s very bubbly and always makes you feel welcome and that you’re the centre of the universe.”<\/p>\n
Fellow customer Mario Kreft, the proprietor of the Wrexham-based care organisation, Pendine Park, is another big fan.<\/p>\n
He said: “Dot is a very special person. When you’re used to coming here to catch a train at 6am on a freezing cold morning, you get a really warm smile and a steaming hot cup of tea. What could be better?<\/p>\n
“I just love Small and Medium Enterprises and Dot is meeting a community need. She’s got a huge personality and we wish her all the best in the future.”<\/p>\n