Keswick cafe popular with vegetarians after 17 years
JOHN CONNELL finds out how Maggie Doron built up Keswick’s only vegetarian eatery and how she feels to be leaving it behind after nearly two decades
Last updated at 10:32, Friday, 07 June 2013
The Lakeland Pedlar has become almost as much a Keswick institution as the pencil museum.
Maggie Doron set up the town’s only vegetarian cafe 17 years ago alongside her husband Amos, who ran Keswick Bikes from the second floor.
But following the bike shop’s move to new premises, Maggie decided it was time for change and the new owners are now taking it on.
Maggie, 52, says: “It had always been a bike shop and a cafe and when it went I thought ‘It’s time to do something different’.
“The cafe was strong enough to stand on its own but sometimes you have to change direction.
“It’s my baby. I will very much miss the social aspects of it and I will miss working with my team of colleagues who are also friends.
“I’m very proud of what we achieved and what we did.”
Maggie, who has made a couple of quite dramatic career changes over the years, is keen to point out that she has not retired. She is merely on the lookout for a new project.
She adds: “You have got to have challenges in life. I would like to look at being self-employed if I can find a new venture.”
Originally from Devon, Maggie worked in the Newcastle Evening Chronicle’s marketing department, and then taught languages and outdoor education before setting up the Pedlar.
The success of the business is even more remarkable when you consider that she had no prior experience in the catering industry.
Setting up the business was, she admits, a “leap of faith into the unknown” but one which certainly paid off.
A couple of years ago Sainsbury’s put the Pedlar in the top 10 vegetarian cafes in the whole of the UK.
The quality of the food and service is such that even committed meat-eaters come here. Visitors to the Lakes also return year after year.
The emphasis has always been on fresh organic produce, sourced locally whenever possible and a Fairtrade element.
It quickly garnered a reputation as a first-class eatery and for a long time was one of the few places where you could buy gluten-free wine or tuck into a chocolate cake suitable for vegans.
Maggie adds: “I like to think we bent over backwards to accommodate people’s dietary needs.
“I enjoyed the day-to-day feedback from people who are vegan or vegetarian. They don’t normally have a choice, with 99 per cent of restaurants offering a frozen vegetarian lasagne option.
“I wouldn’t say it was this award or that award that made it worthwhile but it was people being very grateful. We had quite an extensive menu.”
She also paid tribute to her hard-working team, including her longest-serving member of staff, Caroline Lysser, who will stay on in her role along with her colleagues.
The cafe, which will continue to be vegetarian, is now being run by Paul Maxwell, 42, and partner Angela French.
The couple, who also run the Babbling Brook Guest House on Wordsworth Street, jumped at the opportunity when it came up.
Paul, who used to travel around the country working for Asda, wanted to get a job closer to home and has already extended the eating area onto the first floor where the bike shop was.
He says: “Maggie has done a fantastic job establishing the clientele and we are going to continue it and hopefully improve on it.”
The plan is to open in the evenings.
First published at 10:17, Friday, 07 June 2013
Published by http://www.timesandstar.co.uk
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