Popular seaside cafe set to close after nine years in Norfolk town
Terry and Ted O’Neill at Sheringham's Funky Mackerel Cafe. Picture: STUART ANDERSON - Credit: Archant
It has become famous for its flapjacks and family atmosphere, but now a popular Norfolk coastal cafe is in its final days.
Team members at Sheringham's Funky Mackerel Cafe, from left, Sophia Emery-Adam, Ted O’Neill, Lily-Mai Holman, Terry O’Neill, Jimmy O’Neill and Scott Holman. Picture: STUART ANDERSON - Credit: Archant
Sheringham's Funky Mackerel will open its doors for the last time on Sunday morning after nine years serving food and drink to residents and many visitors to the seaside town.
Terry O'Neill, 54, who runs the venue with her husband Ted, said it was sad to see the business come to its end.
She said they had to close because their lease was running out, and the rental costs for renewing, as well as carrying out a much-needed refurbishment, were too high.
Mrs O'Neill said: 'The rent is just going through the roof so it would not be worth it to keep it open.
The famous flapjacks at Sheringham's Funky Mackerel Cafe. Picture: STUART ANDERSON - Credit: Archant
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'We are an all-year cafe, so I think we will be missed, The town is going to lose something that's become a very valued hub.'
Mrs O'Neill, who lives in Overstrand, has run cafes around Cromer and Sheringham since 2003, and her past venues have included the Java House and the Java Hut in Cromer.
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Mrs O'Neill said: 'They're two totally different towns with two different clienteles. The time has gone really quickly, but it's given us some lovely memories. It's the end of an era really.'
She said the Funky Mackerel, in Cliff Road, had been a family affair.
Mrs O'Neill said: 'Children and step-children Scott, Robyn, Sam, Jimmy and Tamara have all run it with us and have learned their service skills through the Funky Mackerel.
'But everybody who works in here is family.'
Mrs O'Neill said the venue had become an important past of many holidaymakers' visits to Sheringham.
She said: 'It wasn't just a cafe, it was a destination. Some people would come and have a hot chocolate and a flapjack before they would go to their holiday home to unpack.'
Mrs O'Neill said they would continue to sell their famous flapjacks through a website www.funkymacks.uk, and they had left open the possibility of opening another cafe.
She said: 'We are still looking for another premises in Sheringham so you never know, something might happen.'
The Funky Mackerel opens at 9.30am, and Mrs O'Neill said they would have small farewell party there at the end of the day on Sunday.
