THE Coffee Shop at Les Cotils is up and running as it was before. For the past two-and-a-half years it has been known as The Olive Tree Coffee Shop and Bistro, but manager James Ferguson has moved to Sueco.

His departure meant the lease was available and Les Cotils manager Dana Fawcett said she wasted no time in snapping it up.

The Coffee Shop, as it remained for many, will now be managed by Ann Ahearne.

‘We were quite interested that if the lease was ever going to come to an end that we could have it back as part of the house,’ said Miss Fawcett, who has been at Les Cotils since May last year.

‘A lot of people don’t know about Les Cotils.

‘It seems to be the island’s biggest secret and I don’t know why, despite the fact that we hold weddings and a number of other functions here.

‘The Coffee Shop is not just for the guests who are staying here, but for anyone from outside as well. It’s also another option to the dining room for any conference we hold.’

Les Cotils assistant manager Kerri-Ann Magurk agreed.

‘People still have a misconception that Les Cotils is still an old people’s home. It seems the business community is aware of the changes we have made, but the general public isn’t.

‘I think The Coffee Shop has been under utilised with the views it has and we want to provide people with a consistent service.’

Mrs Ahearne has worked at Les Cotils for 11 years. Before taking over as the shop manager, she was the catering and function manager.

She is excited to be at the heart of the new venture.

‘I’m looking forward to getting people in. I love talking to people so they can expect to get a lovely welcome when they come here.

‘With the views we have to offer, it must be one of the best places in the island to come and have a coffee.’

The shop seats 34 inside and 32 outside and will be open from 10am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday.

Miss Fawcett said a number of people from outside the centre had played their part in turning the place around since it closed as The Olive Tree on 11 August.

‘We only had it back for a week and we had a lot to do to bring it up to the standard we wanted. Roy, from Caterquipe, Steve at Sidlocks and Mel Brown, from the Duke of Richmond, really helped us.’