SHARON Cullen is counting down the hours until she can finally do what she intended to do – open her tearoom as a tearoom!
In June last year, Crumbles at Delph opened its doors to customers as things were nothing like conventional.
On May 17, hospitality firms can open inside – and after 11 months of hard graft, two more days will not hurt.
But on Wednesday, May 19 the business on King Street will show off everything Sharon wanted to do. Not least with the opening of a new upstairs seating area, which has been transformed in months of labour.
It also meant uncovering bits of history, not least in the décor.
“We’ve never actually been fully open.” said Sharon, who also found changing the flooring was more like an archaeological dig.
“When we opened, we were a café – now we’re a tearoom. That’s what I wanted, that was always the idea as in Saddleworth there’s no real tearoom.
“It’s cafes and coffee bars. I wanted to be something different. Now we’re set to open fully, we can be what we’ve wanted to be.
“It’ll be nice to serve in China and using proper cups. It will be the full experience of a tearoom.
“When we were decorating, there was a lot of old wallpaper. Three or four layers going back years and years and I don’t think the blinds had been down for 25 years!
“Some of the wallpaper was woodchip too, that was the worst – it took three months just to get it off.
“It took a long time. It’s taken the time we’ve been open to get the upstairs ready. We’ve had to work around being open too, so it meant early mornings and late nights.
“It was a blank canvas at first, it was an art gallery until recently but we’ve done everything ourselves.
“We got in a skilled joiner to do the woodwork bit I’ve done all the design of the décor part.
Everything you see, I’ve designed. “I’m excited for finally being able to open. It’s been really frustrating, it’s been hard.
“We were going to open at Christmas and got upstairs all decorated then the week before we were told we wouldn’t be able to.”
Sharon may not have been able to open but that has not stopped her building up a loyal customer base, some of which comes from way outside Delph.
As well as the archetypal afternoon teas, coffees, ice creams, homemade cakes and sandwiches, Crumbles at Delph also does full meals with a menu that changes every week.
Plans are also ongoing at creating a ‘cycle stop’ to the rear, where up to 10 cyclists would be able to rest their bikes and sit down – it would also provide a further outdoor seating area when the weather is nice.
The new upstairs area will provide 16 covers when it first opens, rising to 18 when, as planned, social distancing rules are ditched in June.
In addition, there will be two tables of four on the ground floor and another two to the front of the building.
They share the building with the Saddleworth Crafts Cooperative with two established Artists and a Craft shop area.
“We’ve got some really nice customers,” Sharon added.
“Lockdown has done one thing, that’s allowing us to get to know the locals as they’ve had to stay in Delph.
“Now when we can open fully, hopefully our reputation spreads. When we look at our social media and people’s comments, they’re from all over.
“And when they can, people have travelled here too. Customers have come from Manchester and even further away. I’m happy with how it’s going.”
• Crumbles at Delph is open from 10am until 4pm from Wednesday-Sunday.
If you require an afternoon tea, you can book a table either by calling Crumbles at Delph on
07598 496058, e-mailing crumblesatdelph@gmail.com or by messaging them through their social media sites.
