A MUCH LOVED Chester café and cheese toastie business has announced that it is up for sale.

Meltdown on Queens Park View in Handbridge has become a popular spot for those who love a grilled cheese sandwich, with the café elevating the humble toastie using a range of unique flavours including salt and pepper seasoning, garlic, chilli and chorizo and more. However, its owner Laura Lautrete - the Toastie Queen - has now said that she hopes to find a buyer for Meltdown, after developing the business over the past six years.

In a video posted yesterday (Tuesday, June 13) on Twitter, Laura says that she feels that the time is right to take on her "next challenge" and that whilst she loves Meltdown and feels it is a "great little business" she does not want to get to the point where she resents coming to work.

Laura said: "It's just too much for me, I'm going to be 52 this year, it's very physical. I do all of the work on my own, [deal with] all of the stresses and strains on my own.

"It's a great little business and I love it and I don't want to be there not loving it and resenting it. And so, on that note, I think Meltdown is probably officially for sale."

The Toastie Queen goes on to say that in a "perfect world" the sale would happen organically, without the need to list the business, and that there would be an opportunity to approach her directly but that it would likely be listed in the next fortnight if this does not happen.

"In a dream world it would be a young couple who've got more energy than me and really want to bring it forward."

She adds: "I'd probably want to retain one percent just in case there's a Meltdown in every town in ten years and then I want to jump off a cliff."

Laura also says that when she started the business in 2017 she had no experience of working in a kitchen, although she had always worked in the hospitality sector, and that more important qualities would be ambition, drive and energy.

Whilst there are no immediate plans for Meltdown to close, Ms Lautrete says that this may be a possibility in the future, but ultimately the move is about freeing up time in order to do other things.

"I just would like a better work life balance. I'd like time to go and visit my granddaughters, who are growing up rapidly and I'd just like to have clean hair more than two days a week," she laughs.

Those who are interested in taking over at Meltdown are encouraged to visit the shop, or to get in touch at 01244 659528 or Meltdown Chester on Facebook, @Meldownchester on Twitter.