A POPULAR cafe in Bournemouth town centre has closed – but its boss has pledged it will be back.

Real Eating Company, in Yelverton Road, was part of an independent chain of coffee shops.

Its founder, managing director Helena Hudson, said she had taken an opportunity to get out the lease but was looking for other premises in the town.

She told the Daily Echo earlier this year that she was seeking a move to bigger premises.

Ms Hudson said: “We had the option to break our lease on Yelverton Road, so we took it. I am looking at other options in Bournemouth to relocate but no joy so far – there are lots of potential sites but we can’t seem to get the terms we need.”

Real Eating Company planning move to bigger premises despite Covid

She said “doing something in Bobby’s” – the planned revival of the historic department store in the Debenhams building – “might be an option”.

In the meantime, manager Fon Potchana had relocated to Chichester and was managing the Real Eating Company’s cafe there for now, she said.

“We will be back though,” she added.

Costa Coffee closes Bournemouth town centre store from today

The Bournemouth cafe has previously been one of the group’s star performers. It received an award for achieving year-on-year sales growth of nearly a third in 2019. Ms Hudson said the pedestrianisation of nearby Beale Place had “undoubtedly” helped.

Real Eating Company boosted by Beale Place pedestrianisation

But footfall in the area was badly hit by the Covid restrictions in 2020.

Ms Hudson told the Daily Echo earlier this year: “Bournemouth was one of the most challenging early on. It had a fantastic summer, loads of staycationers were there, but when we got into September, Bournemouth didn’t do that well and it didn’t do well in December.

“We just decided at that point to close it until the restrictions went back and the reason we did that in Bournemouth and we didn’t do it everywhere else was footfall.”

At one time, Real Eating Company had two cafes in Bournemouth, with one inside the Steamer Trading kitchenware store until that business closed in January 2019.