A COUPLE have taken over a much-loved café in Neston.

Kayleigh Stapleton, 33, from Wallasey and her partner Shaun Woodage, 34, from Wiltshire, took over Real Food Kitchen on Monday, October 17.

After qualifying as a solicitor five years ago, and working in the industry, Kayleigh decided to move to hospitality in January this year.

Shaun has worked as a chef for several years and has always been in the restaurant industry.

Kayleigh said: "It has always been a dream of ours.

"Shaun had been looking for years at businesses for sale and we saw Real Food Kitchen was advertised.

"Katie, the previous owner, had done it up so beautifully and it was such a gorgeous space, we couldn't believe our luck."

Kayleigh and Shaun have remained as a breakfast and brunch-style café but would like to expand to a more bistro-style venue in the future.

She added: "Shaun comes from a restaurant background so the end goal would be to go to bistro-style evenings but we didn't want to come in and upset the customers because Katie had such a good customer base.

"Shaun has added some fish and meat to the menu which has gone down well so far."

Talking about taking over the business, Kayleigh explained that her and Shaun are really enjoying their time.

She said: "It's been hard work, but we knew it would be.

"Everyone has been so welcoming, and the people of Neston are just so supportive. We are really grateful for that.

"It's been really enjoyable."

Real Food Kitchen is located on 21 Parkgate Rd, Neston, CH64 9XF.