A chef says she has been ‘overwhelmed by love and support’ after opening a Jamaican restaurant in North Wales – with people travelling from as far as Manchester to eat.
Charlotte Stanley, 25, was working as head chef at the 1891 Restaurant in Rhyl when the pandemic hit.
She was ‘getting bored’ over lockdown and started a Jamaican takeaway in Ffynnongroyw in Flintshire, which proved an instant success.
Last month she realised her dream of opening Up A Yard Jamaican restaurant at the Holywell Art and Craft Mill.
Charlotte, whose nana on her dad’s side came to the UK from Jamaica as part of the Windrush generation, said since opening she has had a month of fully booked evenings.
She added: “People are also coming from far and near for lunch and breakfast, it has been an absolutely amazing turn out for the start of the business.
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“There is a different range of people all the time and people are travelling from the Wirral, Manchester and Liverpool for evening meals.
New Jamaican restaurant in Holywell (Image: Hadyn Iball / North Wales Live)“I’m so happy all my hard work has paid off.”
Speaking before opening up last month, Charlotte, who moved to the Flintshire village from Manchester with her family when she was five, said: “It was always my dream to open my own restaurant by 25. I have always loved cooking Jamaican cuisine, it is in my family.
“I saw that no one else was doing this in North Wales, I thought that maybe it would not work here but the takeaway took off straight away.
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“I was surprised at the different ages coming here, lots of older people, but you don’t realise the travel and family experiences people have.
“I also hope I’ve changed a few people’s minds on Jamaican food. I’ve been doing that since I was younger with my friends.”
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