Couple back from Oz hope cafe will be their gold mine
A COUPLE who emigrated from Arnold to Australia nearly ten years ago have returned and are now running a café.
Carl Archer was working at a gold mine in Oz but back home in Notts the 56-year-old was unable to find a job. With wife Nicky having experience serving afternoon tea, the duo decided to branch out into hospitality. And when they saw Duffy’s Café, in Woodthorpe, was up for sale, they decided it was the place. And if they ever need a reminder of how far they’ve come, there’s a world map on the wall.
Since taking over they haven’t changed the look or the menu but they have given it a new name, Jeanie’s Café, after Carl’s mum. The new sign has yet to go up outside due to external works at the parade of shops, in Somersby Road.
Carl, a former welder before emigrating, said: “We lived in Australia for nine and a half years.
We went for a holiday to see my sister and loved the place so we sold everything and went out there the following year. We came back for family reasons. I couldn’t get a job so we thought about opening a café.”
It’s a very different lifestyle to how the couple spent their days in Boddington, Western Australia – a town which lies between rolling hills on the banks of the Hotham River – and not just because of the weather.
Carl used to drive to the mine and stayed there all week, returning home at weekends. “I worked in their workshop and then on site. It’s like an opencast pit. They blast deep down and then it goes into the crushers and comes through the plant on conveyor belts. I worked my way up to a management role so the last three years I was in the office.
“Everybody is saying I’ve got an Aussie twang. I can’t hear it myself,” said Carl and, for the record, he has. These days he is cooking bacon, eggs and sausages on the small hob behind the counter.
“We do egg and bacon rolls in the morning, and sausage and egg, and we have been doing the odd full breakfast for anybody who wants it. It’s got very limited space for doing breakfasts so we want to extend the counter and put in more equipment.
It could be set up better,” he said.
The menu consists of freshly baked croissants, sausage rolls, sandwiches, toasties and jacket potatoes plus creams teas, afternoon tea and a savoury tea with a cheese scone. Cakes include gluten-free and vegan options. Coffee is from one of Nottingham’s leading roasteries, 200 Degrees.
The couple, who now live in Gedling, hope to extend the menu – and not just with cooked breakfasts. They’re considering adding pies, burgers, chips and paninis. Another plan is to acquire a freezer to sell ice cream over the summer.
The 26-seater café, which has just received the highest score for its hygiene rating from Gedling Borough Council, has a homely feel with knick-knacks and plants.
“We are loving it. It’s nice to do something for yourself,” said Nicky, 47.
Kirsty Cross, of Sherwood, visits once or twice a week after dropping her kids off at the nearby Good Shepherd School, meeting up with another mum. She said: “We come for coffee, sometimes breakfast, occasionally a cake. It’s cosy and the new owners are really friendly.
“We always get a warm welcome when we come in. We just feel like we can relax. We’re never rushed out of here. The coffee and food are very good. It’s a lovely place to come.”
Jeanie’s Café is open Monday to Thursday 9am-4pm and Friday and Saturday 9am-3pm.