Cafe owner is overcoming the storms of life

A determined Hawick cafe owner is battling back after overcoming both storms and the ongoing pandemic.
Wendy Sproston at her tearoom in Bourtree Place.Wendy Sproston at her tearoom in Bourtree Place.
Wendy Sproston at her tearoom in Bourtree Place.

When Wendy Sproston, 62, opened the traditional Wendy’s Tearoom in Bourtree Place back in February it was the culmination of a long held ambition.

But soon after the launch her trade was brought to a virtual standstill by Storm Dennis.

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Then, just as business was picking up again, she was forced to close due to the coronavirus lockdown.

However, she has refused to be defeated and has now reopened the cafe, with a steely determination to make it a success.

She said: “The first two weeks after opening up we had those storms, which basically meant it killed my first two weekends, then everything was picking up really nicely and going really well and then we were all shut down because of covid and now I have had to start all over again.

“I’m a pretty determined person and I don’t give up easily and because I put my heart and soul into the place it was that which kept me going and people are coming back and day by day it’s getting busier.

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“It couldn’t have been tougher and I think a lot of people have just given up but because I had put so much into this place there was no way that I was just going to give up.”

Wendy said lockdown did give her time to think up new plans for the cafe.

She said: “I had a lot of thinking time to consider what I could do and what people wanted.

“I have opened up with new recipes and new menus. I have got a speciality which is haggis scones with bacon and egg, which has gone down really well and I’m selling out of them everyday.

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“I’ve also got paninis, toasties and bacon rolls, almost anything really, and I’m still doing my homemade soups and speciality cakes.”

Wendy was brought up in Hawick but lived south of the border in Cheshire for 20 years, working in the pub trade.
She added: “I came back to Hawick 13 years ago. It was my dream to open a traditional tearoom here and I’m determined to make a success of it, whatever is thrown at me.”

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