CAFE CULTURE
Former garage gets customers from near and far
AS a young girl, Susan Birkby wrote her name in cement outside what is now the Albion Cafe. Little did she know this would be the first step in making her mark on the cafe that has been feeding workers in the Valleys for decades.
Walk into the Albion Cafe and you’ll instantly realise that it’s not your average breakfast spot.
It lies in Cilfynydd, a small village around a mile from Pontypridd, and is steeped in history and nostalgia.
It was initially opened as a transport cafe nearly 35 years ago and has been going ever since.
The Albion Cafe is now under the watchful eye of Susan, 52, and her partner Carl Birkby, 54.
Susan took over the business five years ago after the death of her mother Gillian Lloyd who had opened the cafe.
Susan said the building was formerly a bike shop and a garage before the family started up the business more than 30 years ago.
Until recently, Susan said the cafe used to “look like a tin shed” as it inherited the exterior of the old garage that stood before it.
The front wall has now been redeveloped but part of the building still maintains its tin form.
Many of the locals will describe a brekkie at the Albion as “the best breakfast around” – and you can get a full English in minutes for just a fiver.
“People come here from everywhere – they come from places like Merthyr Tydfil, Mountain Ash, Aberdare, Blackwood and all areas of the Valleys,” Susan said.
“People come here from abroad and end up coming back.
“When we tell people we’re from Cilfynydd they mention the cafe.
“We were in Portugal talking to people once and they said had been to the cafe in Cilfynydd.”
It’s fair to say the Albion gets recommended a lot, and certain meals are pretty legendary.
“People from America came here before and said they had to visit because someone told them they had to try our faggots and peas,” said Susan. “I feel quite proud about that sometimes because at the end of the day we are just a small cafe in a little village – but there is a lot of history in Cilfynydd.”
And Susan’s right. Many people know the village’s name due to the Albion Colliery disaster.
The explosion rocked the valley on June 23, 1894. At 3.50pm, two blasts were heard above ground and the disaster left 290 men and boys dead. 123 horses died, too.
Only 16 men were brought out alive and only five survived.
The disaster left behind 150 widows and 350 fatherless children.
There is perhaps no better name the cafe could have inherited than Albion, as the colliery is a part of the village that people will never forget.
Susan said: “We feel blessed in a way; it’s nice that it’s still going.
“What’s also nice to see is the school kids. They end up coming back as men.
“We saw them when they started school. Now they are tradesmen in their own right and they still come to the cafe. I have seen them grow up, which is nice.”
To many, the Albion will always be seen as a transport cafe but the family actually see a lot of different people walk through the doors now.
“We do have more of a range of people here now,” Susan said.
“Years ago it would be your builders, your roofers, your van drivers and they would bring their friends.
“We now have people like solicitors who come here, you get white collar workers and people in business suits.”
Susan introduced Sunday dinners to the menu around four years ago and it’s really taken off.
Carl, who is in charge of the Sunday lunches, said he’s seen how the food has brought people from the community together, especially the older generation.
He said: “One man who started coming meets up with about six people now.
“They’ll pick each other up when it’s raining – it’s great.”
And business, it would seem, just keeps getting better for the family.
Susan said trade seems to have picked up a lot more within the past year and she thinks this has a lot to do with social media.
But it hasn’t always been easy for the family. Susan’s mother, Gillian, had a hard time when the cafe first opened as she found it difficult to build steady custom.
“It struggled for years and years, but my mother kept going,” said Susan.
Many people in the village would say they’re glad that Gillian kept at it, as the cafe is treasured.
Cilfynydd wouldn’t be Cilfynydd without the Albion Cafe. Locals gather for a bite to eat and sports teams go for a pre-match meal.
“When the local team go on tour we open at about 4am or 5am for them to have their brekkie before they go,” Susan said.
“We are also supporting the local young football team started up.”
But, what’s the key to the cafe’s success?
According to Susan, it’s down to good quality food that’s served up quickly and without any fuss.
“My mother used to say ‘don’t give anyone something you wouldn’t eat yourself’ and that’s the motto.
“We serve the food that the people want to eat. They don’t want a fuss. They just want their food on a plate. They want value for money. They want hot and quick.
“They want good quality, tasty food that they can finish and carry on working.”
Susan has a lot of support around her to keep the cafe going, including from her daughters Kim, 28, and Deena, 23, who work with her.
She said working seven days a week is “hard work” and she hopes to take more of a back seat over the next few years.
She also admits that it’s down to the support of her daughters, and all the other staff, that the cafe has been doing so well for so long.
“What’s nice is that I have been able to work with my grandmother, my mother, my father, my uncle and my daughters,” she said.
While the quick, tasty grub will always be something that punters come back for, it’s clear there’s another reason why the Albion has managed to survive for more than three decades.
And that’s because the cafe has built a community in its own right. It has done something a lot more remarkable than feed people over the past 33 years – it has invited people to taste a part of the village’s history. that has just