Page 49 of Snowflakes Over Micklewick Bay

‘Oh, wow!’ said Maggie, behind her. ‘This is like being hurtled back to the nineteen fifties. I can’t remember the last time I saw so many Formica tables in one place.’

She wasn’t wrong. The café had clearly been outdated well before it had closed its doors for the last time decades ago, but it did nothing to detract from the original Victorian character of the place. Hannah’s heart set off at a canter as her eyes scanned the room, her mind suddenly racing with ideas as excitement took hold, which was something she hadn’t expected. The room had a vaulted ceiling with huge, exposed beams and vast windows which would no doubt afford stunning views of the sea and Thorncliffe. Granted, the place was filthy, but nothing leapt out at her as being in desperate need of attention structurally, though she was no expert and would be interested to hear what Stella’s partner had to say about it. She crunched her way over the grubby tiled floor towards the room at the back which she assumed was the kitchen, and was pleasantly surprised to find it spacious though seriously outdated and filthy, a sprawling grease stain spreading across the wall above the oven. In an instant an image jumped into her mind of a state-of-the-art stainless steel kitchen. Ideally, she’d like it if diners could see their food being prepared from the dining area but a dividing wall put paid to that thought.

Heading back into the restaurant, yet more images started to filter into her mind: the décor, the colour scheme, even the staff uniform made an appearance. Excitement was now fizzing through her veins. She was gripped by the idea that this was going to be more than just a gastronomic kindred spirit to her burger van. It had the potential to be next level, which would more than fulfil her aunt’s wishes. The only problem was, she was under no illusion as to the limits of her culinary skills. Yes, she could turn out an above-average tasty burger, make a decent sauce, but her repertoire didn’t extend to anything remotely near to fine dining. She’d have to employ the services of a chef, and a pretty special one at that. If she was to turn this idea into a reality, then she’d have to seek out the best.

An unexpected thrill pulsed through her at the prospect of taking on this exciting new challenge, Birdie’s words of last week slipping into her mind: ‘Your aunt thought it’d be the making of you.’

‘Knock, knock,’ came a woman’s voice, pulling Hannah back into the moment. She turned to see Stella standing in the doorway, her cheeks rosy, her eyes shining with exhilaration from her run. In her smoke-blue running gear she still managed to look stylish, assisted by her leggy, athletic build. Behind her stood a tall, dark-haired man in black running clothes, who look equally invigorated. Hannah guessed he must be Alex. There was no denying they made an attractive couple.

‘Stella! Hi, come in.’

‘Hi, folks.’ Maggie smiled, giving Stella and Alex a wave, as they both replied with, ‘Morning, Mags.’

‘Now then, me aud mucker.’ Bear strode across the room, following his Yorkshire greeting with an enthusiastic handshake of the dark-haired man’s hand, giving him a broad smile. ‘Haven’t seen you for a bit, how’re you diddlin’?’

‘Now then, Bear, I’m good thanks, how about you?’

‘Aye, not bad. Interesting spot, this.’

‘So I can see.’

‘Hannah, this is Alex.’ Stella stepped in with the introductions. ‘Al, this is Hannah who I was telling you about last night.’

After the two had shaken hands and exchanged hellos, Alex said, ‘This looks great; it has loads of potential.’

‘It’s amazing,’ said Maggie, as a seagull perched on the rooftop and started shrieking for all it was worth. ‘Imagine the views when the windows aren’t boarded up.’

‘Yeah, they want maximising.’ Alex surveyed the room, his hands on his hips. Hannah watched as his eyes took in the details and clues to potential problems she wouldn’t know to look for. ‘Do you know if this place is listed?’ he asked, tapping the wall that divided the restaurant from the kitchen.

‘I’ve no idea, but I suppose I could find out from Mr Cuthbert.’ She hadn’t thought about the prospect of it being a listed building and wondered what the implications would be if it were.

‘Assuming it’s not, I’d reconfigure the whole area and I’d start by removing this wall – it’s not a supporting wall so it should be fine. The kitchen could be pushed back a little way, giving you more space in the dining area, and I’d suggest you have the kitchen open so your diners can see in and watch the chefs at work creating magic with their food.’

He shared her vision! This was a fabulous start!

He stamped his foot on the floor, repeating it in several places around the room. Then squinted up at the large beams before dropping his gaze down again. ‘First impressions are that the floorboards and joists seem sound, though I’ve got a sneaking suspicion there could be active woodworm in the beams over there. This here’ – he pointed to a small pile of dust on one of the old Formica tables – ‘is what’s known as frass and is produced by woodworm as it gnaws its way through wood. Doesn’t look too bad though, but it needs further investigation. All in all, I think you’ve got yourself a fantastic opportunity here and I’d be more than happy to do a few simple drawings of what I think would work, if you like? No pressure, though.’

Hearing Alex’s enthusiasm added fuel to her own and a wide smile broke out on her face. ‘I’d love that, thank you!’

‘Great!’ Alex grinned back. ‘I’ll put you in touch with a reputable surveyor – Barney Newton, he’s a pal of mine. I suggest you get a decent survey done before you start laying out cash on cosmetic refurbishment. It’s best to get any structural issues sorted before you do anything else.’

‘I wonder if Lark’s fella, Nate, would be interested in taking the Formica tables off your hands?’ said Stella. ‘You never know, they might scrub up okay and there’s always a market for retro stuff.’

‘It’s worth asking,’ added Maggie. ‘I quite like that mirror over there. The mercuried one at the back of the counter. Looks cute – I reckon he’d take that, too.’

Hannah followed her line of sight; she wouldn’t have given it a second glance but looking at it now, she could imagine it cleaned up and looking the part in Maggie and Bear’s home.

The ringing of Bear’s phone made them all jump to attention.

‘Right, that’s our cue to get off.’ Stella clapped her hands together like she meant business. She pressed a kiss against Maggie’s cheek, doing the same with Hannah. ‘See you later, Mags. Good to see you again, Hannah. Hope you’ll be back in town soon.’ She gave Bear a wave as he answered the call.

‘Bye, folks. Pleasure to meet you, Hannah. I’ll get Stella to forward the surveyor’s number to you.’ With that, Stella and Alex slipped out of the building and picked up with their run.

‘Right, thanks, mate. I’ll see you soon.’ Bear’s voice filled the room. ‘That was Jace over at Lingthorpe Garage. He’s just taken delivery of a tyre to replace yours and is setting off shortly – should be here in about twenty minutes.’

‘Oh, that’s brilliant news! Thank you for organising it all, Bear.’

‘No problem. If you give me your key, I can go and wait with your car once I’ve dropped Mags off at home – if you like, that is. It’d give you a chance to have more of a look around here. I honestly don’t mind; shouldn’t take him long. And to be honest, I’ve been wanting to pick Jace’s brains about sourcing some parts for an old series Landie I’ve got my eye on.’